Day 6 - More Amazing Shows
We had breakfast at the Hopscotch Cafe in Tamworth. The food is OK but I think it was better last year. The two girls in this photo in matching T-shirts are Felicity Urquhart's kids. They were busking with their cousins on Peel St which was much busier than it was last Sunday.
We had tickets to two shows today and they were both amazing but very different. The first was at the Tamworth entertainment centre which holds nearly 5,000 people. It was a tribute to Joy McKean who turned 90 in January. Joy was married to Slim Dusty and wrote many if not most of the songs he performed. All of Joy's family were there and many are very talented singers and musicians themselves.
Most of the top country music stars were there and did their own interpretation of Joy's songs. "Lights on the Hill" is probably her most well known and popular song, even though it is about a truck driver dying in a crash. The music is very catchy with an upbeat tempo the truckies love. Lee Kernigan made it sound like a rock tune. Our seats were too far back for good photos, but Paul Kelly and Troy Casar-Daley are at least recognisable in this one.
Our next show was Shane Nicholson at The Pub. We bought tickets but it's always a scramble for the best seats as there is no seat allocation. We were there early and secured stools to sit on while we had dinner and waited for the doors to open. Fortunately we managed to get a table with a good view.
Shane announced he nearly cancelled the show because he has a lurgi and lost his voice. A local doctor prescribed a cocktail of steroids and other drugs that enabled him to perform. He knew his voice wouldn't last a whole show so he called on some mates to join him. This was so successful he is thinking of being unwell for next year's show!
For 18 years Glen Hannah played guitar in Shane Nicholson's band called The General Waste. While Hannah's suicide shocked the whole music industry, it has demonstrated the support and strengths of friendships in this country music community. Felicity Urquhart was at the show and one of the friends who performed for Shane.
We had tickets to two shows today and they were both amazing but very different. The first was at the Tamworth entertainment centre which holds nearly 5,000 people. It was a tribute to Joy McKean who turned 90 in January. Joy was married to Slim Dusty and wrote many if not most of the songs he performed. All of Joy's family were there and many are very talented singers and musicians themselves.
Most of the top country music stars were there and did their own interpretation of Joy's songs. "Lights on the Hill" is probably her most well known and popular song, even though it is about a truck driver dying in a crash. The music is very catchy with an upbeat tempo the truckies love. Lee Kernigan made it sound like a rock tune. Our seats were too far back for good photos, but Paul Kelly and Troy Casar-Daley are at least recognisable in this one.
Our next show was Shane Nicholson at The Pub. We bought tickets but it's always a scramble for the best seats as there is no seat allocation. We were there early and secured stools to sit on while we had dinner and waited for the doors to open. Fortunately we managed to get a table with a good view.
Shane announced he nearly cancelled the show because he has a lurgi and lost his voice. A local doctor prescribed a cocktail of steroids and other drugs that enabled him to perform. He knew his voice wouldn't last a whole show so he called on some mates to join him. This was so successful he is thinking of being unwell for next year's show!
For 18 years Glen Hannah played guitar in Shane Nicholson's band called The General Waste. While Hannah's suicide shocked the whole music industry, it has demonstrated the support and strengths of friendships in this country music community. Felicity Urquhart was at the show and one of the friends who performed for Shane.
