Well we have been at Tamworth now for nearly a week and have seen all different sorts of musicians and all different levels of ability. You could never criticise any of them, because I think it would take so much guts to stand on the footpath and sing your heart out for hour after hour. I think singing whilst alone in my car is my limit. Thank god for that according to Deb. ( A very harsh critic ).
Strangely enough, there is not a lot of other stuff to do in Tamworth at the moment, so it is off on the daily crusade about 11 every morning. Sunday morning was actually pretty quiet, with less buskers than normal. Maybe a big Saturday night was had by all and they couldn't be bothered getting up.
On our Sunday morning stroll we came across probably the youngest set of buskers. They were being ably driven by their mother, I believe. Their ages were 3, 5, 8 and 12. They all had their own particular instrument with the 3 year old hitting a stick against some sort of tin. Very cute, but not high on my list for the day.
Just across from them was another busker of probably African descent, and he had a really good voice. Lots of watchers and a top position for him outside one of the cafes.
With all of the blog entries over the last 18 months, I have managed to get some photos of Birds and of course, churches. I would hate to let you down, so here are a couple of birds I spied fighting over a birds nest in downtown Tamworth. Don't worry, I will try to get a couple of church shots before we finish.
On Sunday afternoon we went out to check out a Chad Morgan appearance at one of the shopping plaza's. I must first admit that I have never really listened to Chad Morgan before, and I really just related to his goofy teeth, that he flashes in all his photos. Well, I can tell you, we both really loved him. He was great. He is almost 84 yrs old and he is such a funny bloke. His performance is full of great country songs, and you can actually understand the words to all of the songs. Unlike lots of current music. Well worth watching and we will be going back to see him again before the week is out.
Sunday night we went out to the Bi Centennial Park in the main shopping area. It has been re-named Toyota Park for this week. There was a big free concert on that was titled the Starmaker concert. The Starmaker competition initially started with over 400 performers, and that had been whittled down to only 10. They all performed 2 songs over the night, with the winner being picked by a panel of country music experts. The prizes for winning the competition were unbelievable. They included a trip to Nashville, recording contract, production of 3 songs and videos and full use of a Toyota for the year. The competition was great to watch, with the overall winner being Rachael Fahim. She was actually the one that Deb and I chose. A fantastic singer, but really, anyone of them could have won.
Whilst waiting for the judges to make up their mind, Guy Sebastian got on stage and sang a really good song. He is so good live. He also gave a good speech, directed at all of the contestants, being winners or losers on the night. Also performing was last years winner, Karin Page. It was a really good night, with a very diverse range of performers.
Come Monday morning and off on the crusade again. You can be sure that every day you go down the Busking Alley, there will be several different performers that you haven't seen before. We had the mother and her 3 kids, and also a fantastic Celtic Fiddle Band called String Loaded. This band was playing in one of the arcades and they were bloody awesome. When we walked to the staging area, there were probably 150 people crammed in listening to their music. I couldn't believe it because it was dead quiet, with everybody listening. The young girl playing the fiddle was playing an incredible rendition of ' Danny Boy '. You could have heard a pin drop, and I have no doubt there were many quiet tears shed. (I mean, got something in my eye). The applause was the loudest I have heard at the entire festival.
After that heart rending, haunting music, they then played several toe tapping, irish dancing type jigs. They were just fantastic.
After that, well, what could top that. We had to bring ourselves back down to earth with a bit of washboard tapping. You can't call yourself a country festival without a washboard player.
We have booked into a Louise Adams concert Thursday night at one of the Leagues Clubs up here. She performed on X Factor in 2015 and was the runner up. Not that I would ever admit to watching that show, but we did see a couple of her performances and thought she was great.
It is time to leave the music zone and head back to the van. On the way I took a photo of the tent zone that has been set up on some parkland. They have tents ranging from single, double, triple and all the way up to whatever you like. There is a toilet and shower block for your use. The cost is $25 per person, per day. I suppose if you don't have a van, or thousands of dollars for motel or house rental, it is an alternative. Not for me though. Can't imagine being in one of those little tents when it is high 30's, 40's.
Anyway that's all for now.
Will be in touch in a couple of days.
Barry and Deb.
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