Returning to its traditional 10-day timeslot in January, the 51st event will welcome iconic country artists, including the most decorated Golden Guitar winner of all time Troy Cassar-Daley, multi award-winning artist Lee Kernaghan, ARIA Hall of Fame Inductee Kasey Chambers, country music legend John Williamson, ARIA nominated and Golden Guitar winners The Wolfe Brothers, country rocker Casey Barnes, 2022 Golden Guitar winner and ARIA nominated Adam Harvey, 2022 Roll of Renown inductee Beccy Cole, top 2022 Golden Guitar winner Shane Nicholson, the unique duo of Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, 2022 Female Artist of the Year and Tamworth local, Ashleigh Dallas, 2022 Toyota Star Maker winner Max Jackson and festival favourite Fanny Lumsden.
Toyota Park – the Festival's largest venue – will host a series of live and free concerts across the 10-days, including the multi-artist Opening Concert, Toyota Star Maker Grand Final, the very popular Back to the Bush spectacular, plus the Toyota Best of the Buskers.
Country music's night of nights, the prestigious Toyota Golden Guitar Awards will be held on Saturday, 21 January at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre.
Festival Manager Barry Harley says the 51st Festival will mark a return to tradition and celebrate the very best of Australian country.
"2023 will see the Toyota Country Music Festival return to its traditional 10 days in January, which we know many people are excited for," said Mr Harley.
"For more than five decades the Toyota Country Music Festival has been the nation's largest celebration of Australian country music, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome the nation's biggest stars back to Tamworth in 2023."
Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley will be performing at the Capitol Theatre during the 51st Toyota Country Music Festival, as well as Brad Butcher and the Weeping Willows, and The Whitlams, and Moonshiners will welcome two times Golden Guitar winner, Andrew Swift.
Performing at Wests Leagues Club and Diggers will be Amber Lawrence, Hurricane Fall & Jayne Denham, Sara Storer, Kevin Bloody Wilson, Melanie Dyer, the Hillbilly Goats, as well as the Country
Turns Pink fundraiser concert for the Cancer Council.
Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer, Vin Naidoo said it was exciting to see Australia's largest country music festival return to its traditional 10-day celebration in 2023.
"Celebrating Australia's country music artists at Toyota Country Music Festival in Tamworth is something we all look forward to at Toyota, and we're delighted to be a major sponsor for our 31st year."
Other ticketed shows include Lyn Bowtell, The Bushwackers, Angus Gill, Melinda Schneider, Darren Coggan and Oliva Coggan, Michael Waugh, The Wolverines, The Ultimate Bluegrass Pickin' Party with Kristy Cox, The Viper Creek Band, The Pigs, Music For McGrath in aid of the McGrath Foundation, Coal Miners Daughter with Amber Joy Poulton, The Tamworth Opry, The Tanya Tucker Story with Donna Fisk, and The Golden Fiddle Awards and Showcase.
Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin said the 51st edition of the Tamworth Country Music Festival is shaping up to be a blockbuster event.
"It's fantastic to see so many iconic Australian artists on the Tamworth Country Music Festival line-up, from John Williamson and Fanny Lumsden to Kasey Chambers and Troy Cassar-Daley, making this an unmissable event for 2023.
"The family-friendly event attracts more than 55,000 visitors to Tamworth each year providing a significant boost to the visitor economy in the New England region," said Mr Franklin.
The 51st Toyota Country Music Festival will also see the return of the iconic Toyota Star Maker competition, as well as the hugely popular Toyota Zone, FanZone Stage and Toyota Busking Championships, where the best of Peel Street's buskers will go head-to-head. While country's rising stars will once again battle it out in the Golden Gig, Sponsored by Macca's talent quest.
Ticketed shows at Pub Group venues, Wests Leagues Club and Diggers are now on sale, while tickets to remaining shows and the Toyota Golden Guitar Awards will go on sale on 1 September, 2022.
