On Saturday, a 12-hour music marathon rocked the local showground filled with people of all ages and backgrounds, food stalls and creative workshops.

The day started at 11am with a welcome to country which included a moving rendition of ‘Took the children away’ performed by the granddaughter of Archie Roach and a performance by the Dunghutti Dancers.

Then two stages provided continuous entertainment from bands playing everything from swamp rock to folk until 11pm. 

Belly dancing workshops and performances, kids entertainment and puppet making were also on offer, and a behemoth sculptural bonfire was lit at dusk. 

The organisers said they were extremely pleased with the event which was pulled together in just four months.

If you missed it this year don’t worry – it will be back again in 2019.

Tamworth teenager Shaun Davies took to the ‘Get Out of Your Garage’ stage and wowed audiences.

Originally from the Hunter Valley Shaun moved with his mum to Tamworth at the age of nine.

“Growing up, I was introduced to many genres and styles of music because my father was into classic bands such 'Credence Clear Water Revival' and 'Australian Crawl' along with songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly and my mother was into anything with a country background,” Shaun said. 

“When it comes to describing my music, it’s very heartfelt and raw as I write during times when things aren't going so great such as break-ups, depression and losing people I hold dear to me.”

Shaun picked up his first guitar at the age of  eight when his mum gave it to him for his birthday. 

“My uncle plays guitar and taught me my first three simple chords and I then taught myself from there,” he said. 

“Before I ever wrote my first song I did poetry competitions during school and I soon realised that I could bring the two things I enjoy together and write music, which to me is a powerful way of overcoming certain things I experience in my life.”

Shaun’s first live performance was at a local pub in Manilla where he attended a walk up artist night. He says it was an amazing experience which left him wanting to do it again and again. 

“Since then, I have done busking during the Tamworth Country Music Festival and opened for a few bands in Tamworth,” he said.

“I wanted to do this festival as I want to prove to myself than I can achieve anything I put my heart into. Creating music in the hopes that other people can enjoy listening to it as as much as I did writing it and also relate to the stories I tell in my songs.

“I also wanted to play my own songs to a big audience and finally start getting my music out for the world to hear. Its all I ever want to do.”