Registrations for the festival busker spots have already hit 470 – and most of them are not even set to arrive for another few days.

For the first time ever, buskers have been able to sign up online ahead of the festival throng and they’ve pushed buttons to beat a path for a spot to play on this year’s Boulevard of Dreams.

Tamworth mayor Col Murray mightn’t be able to sing outside the shower but he pitched in with Queen contestant Nicole Whiting from The Northern Daily Leader to welcome one of the best of the busking bunch, Bowen musician Lewis Parter, yesterday.

It’s Parter’s seventh festival – and he’s just as excited about this one as he was when he first landed in the Country Music Capital the first time he came south. 

Nicole’s one of 16 young women who will play festival ambassadors for this year’s quest but she’s also pushing the bandwagon for the busking championships.

Hundreds of buskers will take to the streets with an influx expected tomorrow with the official launch of this year’s festival.

Some of the biggest stars of today, including Troy Cassar-Daley, Beccy Cole, Kasey Chambers, and even Keith Urban, began their careers on the busker’s beat during a Tamworth festival – and organisers say plenty of this year’s crop will be hoping to follow in their footsteps.

The championships will see the top acts chosen to compete at the Best of the Buskers concert to be held in Bicentennial Park on January 25 from 7pm.