All things considered, this year's Tamworth Country Music Festival went pretty well.
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That's the view of TCMF manager Barry Harley, who said the triple impact of Australia's worst ever drought, a water crisis and a horror bushfire season was relatively mild.
Final figures are still being collected, but he said it's fair to say numbers were down in 2020.
But he said that was disproportionately a matter of grey nomads choosing to stay home, an anticipated problem.
Festival marketing instead chose to aim in part at locals, but also at new audiences including young adults 18-35 and families. And the old fans will be back, he said.
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The year's biggest lesson, he said: TCMF could cease to exist without constant vigilance.
"This festival that attracts tens of thousands of people away from the coast and to a place that's usually quite hot is a privilege not a right," he said.
"We've got to work very, very hard to keep the experience level very high for visitors who experience the festival - otherwise there's lots of alternatives.
"There's no guarantees in life."
TCMF will give the community an opportunity to give their opinion next week.
Consultation will take place on March 5 at the Tamworth Town Hall's Passchendaele Room from 6pm.