Tamworth Country Music Festival faces challenge from Queensland's CMC Rocks

Country fans descended on Ipswich for three days in March to watch international acts perform at CMC Rocks.

In November 2022, a Tamworth Regional Council Visitor Economy Plan called the festival an "imminent threat".

But, the Tamworth Country Music Festival has proven itself to be successful for more than 50 years, event manager Barry Harley said.

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It's a significant foundation stone for the entire industry, he said, and is home to the Golden Guitar Awards, a pinnacle event for the industry.

"The more festivals that start, the more choice that people have, and you could argue that might erode some of the potential audience for Tamworth," he said.

"Should we be sitting on our laurels and not worrying about it? No.

"We've got to continually nuance and make sure the experience is the best we can actually present for the visitors."

CMC Rocks is a gated festival with pouring rights for alcohol, and contains the audience, Mr Harley said, whereas Tamworth is held across the city, and pouring rights go to venues.

He said there is potential for another Tamworth event, another time of year, similar to CMC Rocks.

"That's some of the focus we'll be looking at, is developing other events outside of the festival," he said.

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