IT started out in 2004 as a simple local tribute in memory of Slim Dusty who had passed away 12 months before, and now it is a fully-fledged festival set to attract legions of fans to the Kempsey Showground in October.
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The Slim Dusty Country Music Festival, now in its 13th year, will start on Monday, October 17.
There will be music for the next seven days with artists including Pete Denahy, Brian Letton, Steve Passfield, Peter Coad and the Coad Sisters, the Gunbarrell Highwaymen, Dale Duncan, Rob Breese and Craig Giles.
The festival also includes a bus trip up to Slim's homestead at Nulla Nulla Creek and a visit to the Bellbrook school on the Wednesday.
Back in 2004, it began as the Slim Dusty Country Music Memories night at the property of Kempsey local Bruce Woods, who admits he had a vision for the event back then.
It was a year after Slim's death, and Bruce had the idea of celebrating Slim's life with an evening of country music - playing Slim's songs.
Bruce and his wife Trish sent out invitations and got 120 people there. A large screen outside played a DVD of artists performing at a tribute concert to Slim and some of Slim’s albums were played.
It was a fun night with a few locals joining the entertainment, including a teenager named Amos Morris.
It would grow quickly with Slim’s family and the Kempsey West Rotary Club becoming involved in 2005, and the following year it moved from Bruce’s property to Kempsey Racecourse, before moving to the showground four years later.
In 2006, the Travelling Country Band reunited to perform at the concert and a year later deputy prime minister Mark Vaile was there during the election campaign to announce the federal government would spend $6 million to get the Slim Dusty Centre built.
It opened last November, and the the concert has grown to the week-long festival, now run by the Slim Dusty Foundation.
This year there are plans to include buskers in Kempsey’s CBD, while there will also be bush poets’ breakfasts at the showground.
Bruce has lived in Kempsey all his life and described it as “unbelievable”, watching the event get bigger and bigger. While he is no longer the organiser of the event, he remains its biggest supporter.
“There’s been some good artists over the years,” Bruce said, mentioning Amos Morris who has been involved every year, and Tania and Ray Kernaghan who have performed in recent years.
“We’ve met a lot of great people, from all over the country who come here, and when it runs for a week, they get to know you,” he said.
