Tamworth Big Country BBQ at Tangaratta Vineyards hailed success, set to become annual affair

A huge line-up of country music stars took to the stage at Tangaratta Vineyards on Friday night, where punters enjoyed some live tunes and some tasty barbecued goodness.

It was all set up to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, and organiser Chris Watson said the total so far was around the $5000 mark.

He said just under 400 people turned out for the event, which would pop up every year during the Tamworth Country Music Festival (TCMF) period.

"We definitely will make it an annual event for TCMF but also for another time in the year to bring tourists back and also to cement us as the country music capital," Mr Watson said.

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He said everyone was very well-behaved.

"We appreciated everyone who attended abided by all the COVID rules. We were checked three times and there were no issues," he said.

"They were well-behaved and helped protect everyone's health and safety which we were really impressed with."

Alongside the likes of The Viper Creek Band, Andrew Farriss, Kirsty Lee Akers and Aleyce Simmonds, local artist Ashleigh Dallas performed for the crowd.

She said it was "lovely" that everyone generously donated to Ronald McDonald House.

"People were being very generous with their money which is a beautiful thing and needs to be celebrated in tough times," Ms Dallas said.

"I know COVID has put a lot of pressure on everybody's financial situation."

She was grateful the crowd was able to come out to support her fellow artists during such a tough time for the industry, too.

"It shows that people are missing live entertainment," she told the Leader.

"It's nice to see people being able to connect to music in a COVID-safe way while still being able to enjoy the music."

She admitted she was 'fan-girling' over INXS composer Andrew Farriss.

"Having Andrew Farriss on the bill in Tamworth was pretty exciting," she said.

"I got to play a show with him on the weekend and I sat there like a fan girl."