Tamworth Hats Off To Country 2021 cancelled by council and entertainment venues amid COVID-19 restrictions

Tamworth Hats Off To Country 2021 was set to start on Thursday, but the plug has now been pulled by Tamworth Regional Council.

Council confirmed on Monday it had made the "unfortunate but necessary" decision to cancel the four-day festival, which was set down for July 1 to July 4, entirely.

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Council's country music coordinator Cheryl Brown said the event was impossible under the health measures, brought in suddenly to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"The current public health orders in place make it impossible or too difficult for venues to go ahead with the shows they had planned for Hats Off To Country this weekend," she said.

"A culmination of travel restrictions for artists and limitations on crowds meant that venues had to cancel their planned shows."

The 2021 event was expected to bring fans to the region to sing along to more than 50 artists performing across several Tamworth locations.

Wests Entertainment Group chief executive officer Rod Laing told the Leader the board had already made the decision to cancel all events and live concerts to "eliminate the risk factor".

"The restrictions don't prevent us from providing entertainment ... the issue is we obviously want to keep our premises safe for members and guests," he said.

"We're fighting hard to be compliant and I just hope that hospitality elsewhere in NSW is doing just that, as we are all in this together and fighting for our survival."

He said the possibility of restrictions being extended was "quite real", so instead of reshuffling booked gigs, the company had to cancel them.

"It's too early to know what may happen," he said.

Mr Laing said the community response to new restrictions - like mask wearing and seated drinking - had been positive.

"The alternative was that our premises could have been closed similar to those in Sydney ... so that was good news," he said.

He said venues across the North West had been supporting each other through the tough times, as hospitality continues to be an industry heavily affected by the pandemic.

"Personally, I would encourage everyone to go and get vaccinated, once we have a high per cent vaccinated that will be the trigger for getting life back to as normal as we can possibly get it back to," Mr Laing said.

The Pub Group also announced all shows had been cancelled at Moonshiners Bar, the Longyard Hotel and Southgate Inn for Hats Off To Country weekend.

The festival was set to make a comeback after it was run virtually last year.

Meanwhile, planning is still going strong for the Tamworth Country Music Festival's 50^th anniversary in January, with the first high-profile artists who have been locked in announced on Monday.

Tickets will also go on sale from Wednesday, July 1.

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