From behind the wings, Barry Harley takes centre stage as OAM recipient

He is the man behind the scenes at every concert, StarMaker competition, street parade, and Golden Guitar Awards.

But Mr Harley said he feels as though he has never worked a day in his life.

"My number one commitment is to enhancing the community," he said.

"Number two is to enhance the industry, and number three is to enhance yourself."

Whenever January comes around, Mr Harley and his team are in their element, with the goal of making the festival memorable for every visitor, artist, and local.

"There is not one that overshadows the other," he said.

"I think the driving force throughout most of those 50 years is the outcomes when they happen."

Mr Harley was the recipient of the Tamworth Songwriters' Association Tex Morton Award in 2019 and the Tamworth Business Chamber's Noel Park Award in 2013.

Born in Tamworth, Mr Harley spent his childhood around Manilla and Tamworth.

Prior to working on the festival, he was a visual merchandiser for Myer.

"I was actually a designer before computers," Mr Harley said.

"My connection to the genre, was when I designed silk-screen posters for the travelling country music artists that 2TM was promoting."

From there, he met the founders of the festival, Max Ellis and Eric Scott.

"In the early 70s' I was asked to design the sets for the Golden Guitar Awards. So from 1975 to the early 2000s I was involved in designing those sets," he said.

"In 1979, I joined the 2TM marketing arm, BAL marketing, who were the purveyors of the country music festival and AgQuip."

Despite the events changing ownership over the years, Mr Harley has remained "a continued link" to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

And since 2015 he has helmed the ship as festival manager.

What makes this OAM even more special, is being able to share it with his partner, Catherine Nugent, who is also an OAM recipient this year.

"It is really surreal," he said.