Tamworth Golden Guitar Awards 2021: hosts Catherine Britt and Andrew Swift ready to watch music shine

Swift and Britt were announced as the hosts for the evening, which will celebrate the best of country music and the resilience of the industry.

With crowds cut down and masks compulsory inside the TRECC, it will be different than expected for the pair, who said they're both a little nervous and full of excitement.

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"I remember when I found out the festival was cancelled, and that one hit really hard," Swift told the Leader.

"The fact that we're here at all in any capacity is just great."

The Golden Guitar Awards night has been hailed as a beacon of hope in what's been a challenging year for the entertainment industry, and it's sure to show on the night.

"I think it will be emotional, I think it's been a really heavy year for the music industry and I'm not going to play that down," Britt said.

"Not being able to tour, our income stripped and our identity."

But, the pair are thrilled to be in Tamworth for the weekend and meet up with their musical mates.

"Getting to watch our friends shine is one of the best bits of being in the music business because we all are like a family and we all really genuinely care about each other," Britt said.

Swift said it was good to see the nominees mixed up between familiar favourites and fresh faces.

Both Swift and Britt have felt the sweeping rush of "adrenaline and emotion" that comes with being called out as a Golden Guitar Award winner, and are keen to see who might take home trophies at the end of the evening.

The iconic event - which has been a hallmark of the Tamworth Country Music Festival for almost 50 years - has a significant meaning to both the industry and the fans.

Britt and Swift said they just want to get red-carpet ready, be themselves, and watch the music shine.

"I'm just happy to see people, masks or not," Melbourne-based Swift said.

"The chicks just have to worry about their eye make up and nothing else because we've got masks on," Britt joked.

"I've got so many outfits, I don't know what to do with myself, I am seriously going to get changed that many times just for fun because I want to try on clothes I haven't been able to wear."