Hats off to Country 2022: Mid-year festival returns to shine a light on local talent

The intimate four-day celebration is a chance to shine a light on local talent, outside of the hustle and bustle of the festival.

Tamworth Regional Council's country music coordinator Cheryl Brown said the cooler, mid-year event had entertained visitors and locals for 22 years - even in the pandemic-struck 2020.

But she admitted it may be too soon to expect a flood of fans, with the Tamworth Country Music Festival held just two months ago.

"Artists have been hit hard over the past two years and we decided to shine a spotlight on our local artists this time, with a few visiting artists too," she said.

"It's also a great opportunity to support our local entertainment venues who provide fantastic entertainment and service. They really come together each year to make this festival the success that it is."

For local country artists Lawrie and Shelley Minson, festivities will kick off early with a songwriters event at The Press on Thursday at 7pm.

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"We've been running it for the past five months, it's usually the first Thursday of the month and it coincided with Hats Off this month, so it worked out really good timing," Lawrie said.

The duo then takes to the stage at West Leagues on Friday night, before wrapping up the weekend on Saturday at The Oasis Hotel.

Lawrie said Hats Off still means a lot to the local artists, who can sometimes be overlooked in January.

"For an artist, playing during the January festival lifts your profile more than just playing year-round at local venues because there's generally more media and people in town," he said.

"But with so much going on, there's the possibility for local artists to be overlooked. So the mid-year event with Hats Off definitely shines the spotlight a little more with what's happening here locally, which is great."

Hats Off began as a concert in June 2000, to salute the king of country Slim Dusty, and soon became a mid-year celebration of all thing's country music in Tamworth.

Venues from all over town participate, with a variety of gigs, but a favourite is the annual Cowboy Crawl which returns on Friday night.

Beginning at the Tamworth Services Club, the bus will take you to The Longyard, then back to Wests' Diggers before a short crawl to Peel Street's Tudor Hotel.

Tickets are $10 per person.

Hats off to Country runs from July 7 to 10.

Head over to www.hatsofftocountry.com.au for a full program of ticketed and free shows.

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