Another van for another year
January 17, 2017
(Don’t miss the FREE DOWNLOAD – Tamworth Festival Rambling Rose Gig Guide – Scroll Down)
G’day folks. After rambling all over Queensland for the past six months, I’m back on home turf for the 2017 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Throwing Rambling Rose all over those Queensland roads, and in and out of driveways and yards, I discovered I do have my limitations and have decided to upgrade and downsize.
This month I aim to sell my 1996 Ford Transit Winnebago, which has taken me to lots of cool places. I have my heart set on another, which is 5 metres long – and not 6.7 metres like Rosie – and it’s a little newer (2002) and not quite as heavy to haul.
The only thing is I have to sell Rosie before I update, so this is it, folks. This site has become a used RV yard of one.
While I’ve been emptying her out, I’ve discovered things I haven’t seen, let alone used, in the past six months. They won’t be going back in the new model of Rambling Rose.
Carrying extra weight only adds to fuel consumption, and although diesel is one of the most economical fuels around, it’s not free, so a girl’s got to conserve it where she can.
When I stuck her out on Goonoo Goonoo Rd in town, Rambling Rose attracted several lookers (she is quite a looker herself, for an old girl), and even one couple checked her out before I finished putting up the “for sale” sign on the side.
So far nobody has been throwing money at me, so I’ll be patient and wait for the right buyer to come along.
Early birds get the music
In the meantime, there’s a festival looming and for some of us, it’s already started.
I began my festival on January 7 at Ashleigh Dallas’s CD launch in Legends Lounge at Wests, which was a really great night. It was so lovely to come home and see Ash attract a full house to Wests for the Lighthouse launch. If you don’t have a copy, you can rectify that pretty easily.
Then, last Saturday night a group of 10 of us were thoroughly entertained at The Cattleman Steakhouse by Marie Hodson, Wendy Phypers and the Cartwheels band, composed of Wendy’s husband Dave Patterson on bass, their son Charley on lead guitar and Ron Mahoney on drums.
The food was great and everyone enjoyed their meal. Needless to say, the music was superb.
On Sunday night I ventured out for a short while to catch a bit of Lawrie and Shelley Minson’s gig in the back yard of Diggers, which was also pretty well patronised. Last night (Monday), I headed back in for the Marie, Wendy and the Cartwheels at that same venue.
Planning my attack on the festival
Now to help me plan my festival, I’ve been studying “the bible” – the Official Guide to the Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth 2017.
From that program, compiled November 2016, I’ve come up with my own cut-down version of the program – with only choice gigs included. It’s called Your Handy Pocket Guide to the Tamworth Country Music Festival 2017, which is my selection from the overloaded program and is included on this website free of charge.
I’ve chosen about 25 gigs each day. I won’t be able to attend all of them, but I’ll give each day a red hot go and see the pick of the picks. Some days, like Australia Day and beyond, are hellish – with clashes upon clashes.
Don’t think you have to attend all 25 shows each day on the guide. It’s just that … a guide that offers quality choices at most hours of the day and night, depending on your mood, location and budget. It is a good idea to buy the Official Guide, as it will let you know which are free and paid shows, and other helpful information.
Get to know the daily stuff
There are the morning shows which are held daily such as Pete Denahy @ Wests; Darren Carr @ Diggers; Neil McArthur’s poets @ the Longyard; Gary Fogarty’s poets @ the Frog and Toad Listening Room (EconoLodge), all of which you can aim to catch sooner or later but preferably sooner, because the festival will be over before you know it.
Other choice offerings you can also enjoy include The Goodies Show in the back yard of Diggers at high noon daily; Pixie and Ryanís Campfire sessions daily at 2pm @ the Forum 6 Cinemas Cinema 3; Al Tomkins’ late night honky tonk in Legends Lounge @ Wests features a special guest singer each evening; Chad Morgan, the Sheik of Scrubby Creek, holds court daily at 12.30pm @ Shoppingworld. You’ll hear that familiar call to arms … “aaarrr, aaarrr, arr-arr-arr-arr, aaarrrrrrr, aaarrrrrr!”
From years of attending this festival, I’ve got to know quite a lot of the artists and can pick a good show from a dud at 60 paces.
If you stick to my abbreviated guide, you won’t go too far wrong, but I’d suggest you buy “the bible” anyway, as it has a free On The Road CD included. Both are great value at just $10. There’s lots of good reading to enjoy in between breaks at shows or before you start out of a morning, or perhaps as you tuck yourself into bed at night and try to sleep in the Tamworth heat. Good luck with that!
Download your FREE 2017 Rambling Rose Gig Guide at the link below
To download it just right click the following link and “save as” onto your computer:
Handy Pocket Guide to the Tamworth Country Music Festival 2017
(Also, If you’d prefer, you can click on the link and it should open in your browser so you can read it online)
It began its life quite a few years ago as Wendy’s Choice Picks when my former Star Boarder, Wendy Broome, started making life easier for herself and her mates by abbreviating the program and handing it out at gigs.
Wendy hasn’t been to the festival for the past few years since moving back to the Apple Isle (where I’ll see her in February), so I’ve resurrected her great idea and put it to good use to help patrons navigate this 10-day musical extravaganza.
Print it out on A4 size paper and if you fold it correctly, it will be the handiest thing you will carry in your pocket all festival, apart from a bottle of water, that is.
I hope to see you out and about in Tamworth. Say g’day if you see me before I see you!