The Tamworth Country Music Festival is recognised as the largest and longest running country music festival in the Southern Hemisphere and sees thousands of people converge to the New England North West region each year.

As part of this year’s festival, Arts North West is hosting a Pop Up Stall for Creatives. It is a free space for artists, musicians, makers and industry members to showcase their creative products and wares, perform, and do live demonstrations to the passing crowd of the TCMF!

Arts North West is proud to announce the 12 featured artists that will be at our Pop Up Stall for Creatives during the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2024. They include:

Buluuy Mirrii, Goldheist, Moods B, Artful Blended Treasures, Bibbi's Aboriginal Arts and Craft,
Cat Long Art, JAMB Hats & Millinery, Outback Arts, Music With AIM, MusicNSW,
Stitched by Mary, and B & K Designs

Come support our artists and creatives from Friday, Jan 27 until Sunday, Jan 28. The Arts North West tent will be operating from 10 AM – 4 PM each day of the festival and is located on Peel Street between the Tudor Hotel and Stashhouse. (Next to the bus ticket station.)

This initiative is supported by Create NSW and Tamworth Regional Council.

Follow Arts North West on social media to stay up to date during the festival!

Buluuy Mirrii  - DAY 1 - Friday, Jan 19 from 10am – 4pm

Colleen Tighe-Johnson, originally from Moree and now residing in Tamworth, is an internationally renowned fashion designer known for her label Buluuy Mirrii (Black Star in the Gamilaraay language). Through her designs, Colleen revives Gomeroi Dreaming Stories, drawing inspiration from her ancestors, and has showcased her creations around the world, on runways in Melbourne, New Zealand, Canada, and New York. She has notably featured in events like Paris Fashion Week and Cannes Film Festival and had her vegan leather dress, Bully (black) Dreaming in Vogue Australia’s September 2021 edition. 

Website: https://buluuymirrii.com.au/ 

Facebook: Buluuy Mirrii

Instagram: @buluuymirrii

GOLDHEIST - DAY 2 - Saturday, Jan 20 from from 10am – 4pm

Singer-songwriter GOLDHEIST, known for her flower-crowned aesthetic, has released three studio albums sharing heartfelt music of love, loss and life. She also creates bespoke handmade trinkets to sell alongside her CDs.  

Website: https://www.goldheistmusic.com/ 

Facebook: GOLDHEIST 

Instagram: @goldheist_music 

Moods B - DAY 2 - Saturday, Jan 20 from from 10am – 4pm

Emerging Tamworth rapper Moods B shares his talent in a unique blend of hip hop, blues, and folk in live performances. 

Facebook: Moods B

Instagram: @moodsb_music 

Artful Blended Treasures - DAY 3 - Sunday, Jan 21 from 10am – 4pm

Leeanne Jerome is a Kamilaroi and Wakka Wakka woman, from Tenterfield who enjoys sharing her culture through her artisan items including clothing and homeware designs, handcrafted earrings and crochet items and homemade condiments and seasonings. 

Cat Long Art  - DAY 5 - Tuesday, Jan 23 from 10am – 4pm

Cat Long is an artist and high school art teacher from Gunnedah. Inspired by the world around her, Cat paints live watercolour illustrations of people, capturing them in the moment, at events. She will also be selling her range of drawings, paintings, and mixed media pieces. 

Website: https://www.catlongart.com/ 

Instagram: @catlongart 

Music With AIM - DAY 8 - Friday, 26 Jan from 5-6pm

Music With AIM provides music classes for young children aged 0-5, developed by Music Specialist Teacher Mrs. Amy Schultz. The program uses original children's music to help babies reach developmental milestones, nurture toddlers, and prepare preschoolers for school. 

Facebook: Music With AIM 

Instagram: @musicwithaim 

Dave Burgener from Music NSW - DAY 8 - Friday, 26 Jan from 1pM - 4.30PM

Music NSW is the state’s music body, a not-for-profit organisation, funded by Create NSW. They aim to foster creative and sustainable culture for artists, performers, musicians, sound engineers and technical workers in NSW, connecting creatives and industry. Music NSW offers programs like Sound Advice, providing professional development opportunities, and access to industry knowledge and advice.  

Dave Burgener, Music NSW's regional manager for the North West and the Northern Rivers, will be at the ANW tent to offer industry advice and support to any singers, artists, performers on behalf of Music NSW. This is a great networking opportunity for local and visiting artists.  

Website: https://www.musicnsw.com/ 

Facebook: MusicNSW

Instagram: @musicnsw 

Stitched by Mary - DAY 9 - Saturday Jan 27 from 10AM - 4PM

Maryanne McMillian is an embroidery and textile artist from Armidale. She puts a modern twist on the centuries-old artform by adding quirky motifs into her stitches to create unique art pieces. Stitched by Mary sells a range of hand-embroidered and wearable art pieces. Every piece is one of a kind.  

Website: https://www.stitchedbymary.art/ 

Facebook: Stitched by Mary

Instagram: @stitched_by_mary 

B & K Designs - DAY 10 - Sunday Jan 28 from 10AM - 4PM

B & K Designs is a collaborative mother-daughter duo who craft polymer clay creations. They make and sell earrings, bookmarks, fridge magnets, and small artworks all made from polymer clay.  

Facebook: B & K Designs

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
WITH GLOW-IN-THE-DARK YARN AT TCMF’24

On Thursday, January 25 from 5 - 8 PM Arts North West will be holding a Yarn Bombing collective in Bicentennial Park as part of Country Fringe during the Tamworth Country Music Festival!

Pioneer Parade will come alive with a Silent Disco dance party, and include a glow stick art explosion, light-up angel wings, as well as the Empress Stilt Dance Walkers and Fairy Eyes Face Painting.

So bring your needles or hooks and have a yarn with us - we even have glow-in-the-dark yarn!

When: Thursday, Jan 25 from 5 PM until 8 PM

Where: Pioneer Parade, Bicentennial Park, Tamworth

BYO: Hooks and needles!

Cost: Free

get involved!

Join the Facebook group here to keep up to date!

ROAMING MURALS

In addition to the Pop Up Stall for Creatives, Arts North West will be displaying the Roaming Murals of our Something To Talk About Project!

Arts North West has commissioned local mural artists from across the New England North West to develop a collection of portable mural artworks as part of the CBD activation component of the project.

Participating artists were provided with a 1.2m square plywood panel and asked to respond to the theme of change, vibrancy, and growth to inspire creativity and wonder, a sense of curiosity and exploration.

The Roaming Mural artists include: 

Fiona McDonald | Jodie Herden | Tone Cotter | Amy Canfield

Audrey Fogg | Maisie Johnson | Fonda Shae | Karen Balsar

James O'Hanlon | David Allan | CRISP | Silly Pear | Moral Lackley

Want to find out more about the project? Click the link below!

JOIN THE TCMF PARADE

Registrations are now OPEN for Parade participants.

The Country Music Parade is a celebration of Australian country music, giving festival-goers the chance to see their favourite artists up close during the iconic street parade. The event also offers a great opportunity for local businesses and community groups to actively engage in the festival. The parade is set to begin at 9am on Saturday 27 January, 2024 with participants walking the 1.2km route along Peel Street, Fitzroy Street and Kable Avenue. The theme for the 2024 Tamworth Country Music Parade is Australian + Country + Music. Its free to enter, with prizes on offer for the best entries!

The Parade's vehicle restrictions and event criteria are available here.
Entries have been extended until 5 pm Monday 22 Janurary 2024.

Volunteer at the Festival

Becoming a volunteer can be a very rewarding experience. It is a great way to get involved in the local community, make new connections and celebrate our region.

If you are 16 years or above and interested, apply to meet new people, gain some volunteering experience and help festival goers find their way around Festival.

Registrations are closed for 2024.
Registrations closed Friday, 1st of December 2023.
Please check again after the festival to register for 2025.