Fanny Lumsden will release her fifth album, Traditions, on 30 October and launch it with an outdoor concert at Tooma Recreation Grounds the following day. Proceeds from the show, apart from costs, will go to local clubs, a rodeo association and a hall committee. The album features a duet with Paul Kelly, written after a 2025 tour, and explores family, ambition and motherhood. Lumsden has also toured regional halls across Australia, New Zealand and Scotland since 2012, and her albums have won ARIA awards.
Entries are now open for the 2027 Country Music Parade in Tamworth, which has been given the theme Country Music Icons. Artists, businesses, community groups and performers are invited to take part in the parade, which falls on Saturday, 23 January. Organisers describe it as a chance to show creativity to thousands of fans and as the largest street parade of the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Entries are lodged through the council's online form.
Nundle Rocks will return to the New England region from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 January 2027. The alternative country, folk and roots music festival will feature more than 25 acts, including ARIA Award-winning artist William Crighton and UK folk musician Beans On Toast. Organised by Dashville, it will be held at the Nundle School of Arts Memorial Hall. The 2027 event introduces the Supper Super Round, and The Nundle Nugget Hunters will close the festival on Sunday night. Tickets are limited to 200 people per day and are on sale now.
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Author Sophie Green has published her eighth novel, The Frock Shop, which is set in Mosman, where she grew up and now lives again. Green works full-time as a publisher and is finishing another book due out early next year. She also runs Sunburnt Country Music, a platform that interviews country music artists and won her a 2024 media award. Green says she writes on the ferry and late at night, and encourages people to find the form of expression that makes them feel free.
Children from remote Western Australia's Pilbara have recorded a country song with award-winning musician Josh Arnold. The students from the School of the Air gathered at Yarrie Station, a cattle property about 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, to film the music video. Nine-year-old Tanami Fox-Coppin said she was happy to see her friends, whom she usually sees only three times a year. Arnold said the project gives station children pride in who they are. Yarrie Station owner Annabelle Coppin said such activities help students feel more connected to school.
The Dolly Parton Festival returned to Narromine, NSW, for its fifth year, two months after the country singer's death. About 1,500 fans attended, dressed in rhinestones and glitter. Volunteer Nikolaas Kostraby said the town's celebration would have impressed her. The best-dressed competition drew about 25 entrants. A group sang I Will Always Love You as a tribute. Organisers plan the next festival for October 9, 2027, with more artists and events.
Country music artist Ronnie Joudo and his band, The Whiskey Sodas, will perform their Dust & Diesel Tour at FunHaus Factory on Saturday, October 24. The show is promoted as a night blending country music with live rock.
A country music campout at Wooroolin Hall, Queensland, was packed out again last month. It was the second campout held at the hall this year. The three-day event features walk-up artists who perform on stage with professional musicians. A Saturday afternoon Variety Concert featured 43 items. Terry and Noraine Mason, from Bundaberg, have taken over running the event from its founders, Geoff Grevell and Sue Bradley, who started it in 2021.
Strummingbird, a country music festival, drew close to 12,000 people to Victoria Park in Ballarat over the weekend. The one-day event on Saturday 10 October featured international and local acts, line dancing and DJ sets, and welcomed families and all ages. City of Ballarat expects roughly $2 million to flow into the local economy, though the final economic impact is still being assessed. Police reported no poor behaviour from the crowd, which carried on into the night in the CBD.
Organisers have announced a second round of artists for the Toyota 55th Tamworth Country Music Festival, which runs from 15 to 24 January 2027. A one-off tribute to the late Dolly Parton features Amber Lawrence, Max Jackson, Melody Moko and Michael Waugh, alongside previously announced acts. Ticket sales are tracking ahead of last year. The Pub Group has added headline shows, including Mack Geiger, whose show is the fastest selling ever at the Longyard Hotel and across The Pub Group. Brad Cox will play two Tamworth shows, an afternoon acoustic set and an 18+ full band show.
The western NSW town of Narromine has been transformed into Dollymine for its annual October festival honouring country music star Dolly Parton, who died in August aged 80. Organisers say this year's event is the largest yet, with record crowds of locals and visitors filling shops and accommodation. The festival began in 2022 and was cancelled in 2024 before a $150,000 state government grant and council support saved it. Attendees said the event celebrates Parton's connection to small towns and her children's literacy program, the Imagination Library.
Country singer Morgan Evans will make his debut at Telethon, the fundraising event for children's charities. Growing up in Newcastle, Evans first played country music publicly at a bowls club venue, then won a competition called the Road to Tamworth. The prize included a trip to Nashville and a chance to record there. Next year he will replace Kyle Sandilands as a judge on Australian Idol. Evans says he will not imitate the former judge and plans to share his own opinions.
