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- Previews of the Festival. Buy the latest issues of Country Capital News and Country
Update in advance to read the preview articles about Tamworth.
When you find artists you like,
check out their official web pages or their Facebook pages,
and also check out pictures via Google Images,
and watch the short videos on Youtube.
On Youtube, often very general searches will lead to a treasure trove of stuff,
for example try "rockabilly 1956" or "tamworth 2022" or "aussie yodelling",
or just search for the artist by name with the word "tamworth" added.
- Consider buying the official programme as soon as you arrive.
The free double-CD is a good reason to spend $10.
Whilst the hour-by-hour programme seems ok,
many well known artists are missing from the artist's section this year
and overall it's a disappointment.
Words like "celebrate", "showcase" and "experience" appear regularly.
But thousands of people (including me) get it in the mail before the festival so we can plan ahead.
Most people just get the app for their smartphone from either Google Play or Apple's App Store.
- What else is on.
Try to get a programme for Wests Leagues Club,
for The Pub Group of hotels and the Capitol Theatre.
Also get sheets for the Post Office Hotel, the Courthouse Hotel,
Joe Maguires, the Family Hotel,
the Oasis Hotel and the Balladeers Homestead.
It's important to pay attention to all the posters in Peel Street
and to pickup programme sheets from the pubs as you walk past.
If you are staying in a motel or caravan park,
there will probably be heaps of leaflets available at the office.
Get some leaflets, and the free map as soon as you arrive.
Be sure to get the rival free programme,
since not all venues advertise in the official programme.
- Buy the local paper.
Each day The Northern Daily Leader covers the festival and
the daily programme as published in the paper is the latest version.
- Relax. Don't try to do too much.
Just pick some things you really want to see,
enjoy your food and relax. After all, you are on holidays.
- Trial and Error. Go to a few different things
that are a little outside your comfort zone.
It might be a real surprise or a complete disaster for you,
but that's the only way to discover something new.
Perhaps even let your friends pick things for you to go to.
Don't be afraid to make a mistake.
- Enjoy.
The reverse of trial and error is don't waste
your time on something you simply won't enjoy.
There is so much on that it's not worth the bother.
If you don't like "world music" or "country memories" or whatever,
then for goodness sake don't go to it.
Save time when reading the programme
- cross off stuff that is way outside your field of interest.
If you don't like processions and floats,
then don't go to the cavalcade, etc.
- Rubbish.
Leave immediately if it's absolutely not your taste
or too loud or sounds like "doof-doof" or "hip-hop" music.
Sad to report, but Tamworth is being invaded by incompetent sound technicians
who think they know their job much better than you ever could,
even when they have advanced industrial deafness and the sound is totally crap.
Poor sound is a problem at the Blues Festivals too.
When the sound is rubbish, there are plenty of other hotels and clubs in Tamworth
that will make you welcome, so just leave as soon as you can.
The best sound in town used to be at the Golf Club,
but Wests remains hard to beat in the Legends Bar and in Blazes.
And it does not take long to spot a few contenders for the worst sound in Tamworth.
- Peel Street.
At festival time, Peel Street is famous for huge crowds and the buskers.
Every spare wall is papered with posters of what's on.
It's all good fun, so allocate $20 in spare change
to put in the buskers' hats during your visit.
Otherwise they don't eat.
Give extra points for effort and potential.
- Daydreaming and Pottering.
Limit the amount of time you spend walking up and down Peel Street
looking at the buskers. They deserve your attention but only up to a point.
The mainstream music is on at the big events,
and the interesting and different stuff is on at the smaller pubs and clubs.
When it comes to quality music, the buskers are not the festival.
- Shopping. Like any regional centre,
Tamworth has a huge array of shops and all the usual chains.
Plenty of bargains and discounts.
Buy some souvenirs, coffee mugs and postcards.
Stock up on groceries, underpants, pet food, toilet paper, etc.
For serious shoppers Tamworth has a Vinnies with plenty of
"country" stuff, not to mention a Bunnings, an Officeworks and a Spotlight.
There is a "factory outlet" shop that sells shoes.
- Food.
The main street is full of cafes and coffee shops.
Every club and pub has some sort of bistro.
Oddly, each place seems to stay much the same year after year.
Some are really bad, others terrific.
My favourite is the meatballs at Joe Maguires,
and quite a few places do a good "roast of the day".
And make sure you get fed by 8pm or 8:30pm at the latest.
Wherever you are, check what time the bistro closes just in case.
Remember Tamworth is a country town, not the inner suburbs of Sydney
where you can order anything almost anytime.
After 9pm, you might have to make do with chips or a hot dog,
although the coffee shop at Wests has good light meals until about 10:30pm.
There are great hamburgers at a small takeaway on Goonoo Goonoo Road.
- Radio Stations.
There are two local FM stations.
Radio 88.9 FM will be broadcasting the awards live from TREC on Saturday 26th from 4pm.
KIX Country on 87.6 has been designated 'official broadcaster' and broadcasts
from FanZone from 9am till 5pm during the festival.
Both stations stream to the internet.
On the AM band, Radio 2TM is still going strong.
- Internet Access. Civilisation is not very far away.
Most motels have free Wi-Fi so bring your own laptop,
smartphone, tablet, iPad or whatever.
There are still some internet terminals available at the city library,
although they guard them like it's 1998.
- Buying Music.
A lot of country music CDs and DVDs are for sale in Tamworth.
Shops like K-Mart and Sanity stock up with country stuff for the festival.
If an artist you like is selling their CD, buy it on the spot and they will sign it for you.
There is a huge selection of country CDs at the Golden Guitar gift shop.
Also if you find shops selling discount CDs, it might be rare
or old-stock country music that is not available elsewhere.
Or it might be terrible.
- Bus Services.
Normally there are four regular bus routes serving the suburbs
of Tamworth but during the festival there are four more
to help you travel between venues.
- Fares.
A $40 wrist-band ticket for the whole festival is available.
It's still a bargain and good discounts for Seniors too.
Otherwise normal fares apply.
A one-day adult ticket is $15.
Buy a ticket on any bus or at the ticket office on the corner of Peel and Brisbane streets.
- Bus stops and timetables.
You can "hail and ride" - the bus will pick you up anywhere,
even if you are not at a bus stop.
As far as I can tell,
no bus runs better than once every half hour, which is awkward.
Services end around midnight,
but on the last weekend of the festival there are additional buses after midnight.
- Bus routes.
All buses leave and return from Brisbane Street.
This is the cross street that leads up
to the Imperial Hotel and the Railway Station.
But the bus routes are quite difficult for visitors
to understand and you might need to ask a local for help.
- Nundle. This year (from Friday 17th till Saturday 25th)
there are two trips a day out to Nundle and one to the DAG sheep station.
For a pleasant day in Nundle, the bus leaves from Brisbane Street
at 9:15am and returns by 4:30pm.
Buy a bus ticket and ask for directions at the kiosk in Peel Street at Brisbane Street.
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