That's the predicament for Cairns brother and sister duo, The McMenamins.

Fleur and Simon each have two children, making this year's trip to Tamworth a whole lot more exciting ... and exhausting.

The McMenamins, who released their third album Long Time Gone in September, have played four shows in Tamworth on The Atrium stage.

The alternative-country/folk pair began performing in 2003 and have since supported local and international artists, including The Waifs, Missy Higgins, Ben Lee, Jason Mraz, Toni Childs, Lior, Ray LaMontagne, and Kate Miller-Heidke.

Fleur said it all started with a gig at the Woodford Folk Festival.

"I'd been trying to get him (Simon) to play with me for ages," she said.

"We got into the emerging artists program at Woodford and we got such a good response from there that just kept us going."

The McMenamins first releases, their self-titled debut album and their second album In This Light, have gained critical acclaim and received good airplay on triple J and ABC radio.

After a long break between releases, the duo is hoping that success continues with Long Time Gone.

Fleur said they're "getting the ball rolling again".

"We were getting a bit of momentum before we had our children," she said.

"I thought it would be a lot harder, but it seems like we've picked up where we left off."

The next goal for the McMenamins is to take their music to other countries.

"We're trying to get to America this year," Fleur said.

"There's such a broad audience over there so we're trying our best to get our music heard."