For ten days each January, Tamworth becomes the beating heart of Australian country music. The Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival — the largest in the southern hemisphere — packs more than 700 artists into over 2,800 events, from the giant Toyota Park concerts to buskers on every corner of Peel Street. The 2027 festival, its 55th, runs 15–24 January 2027, culminating in the Golden Guitar Awards.
What’s on
Most of it is free: street performances, Peel Street busking, free stages and the enormous festival atmosphere. Ticketed headline concerts and the Golden Guitar Awards night anchor the program. The Big Golden Guitar on the town’s edge is the obligatory photo stop.
Planning it
Tamworth is about 5 hours north of Sydney in the New England region. Accommodation books out far ahead — many visitors camp or stay in nearby towns. Combine it with a New England high-country road trip and the waterfalls of the tablelands.
