Tamworth Town Hall means a lot to Anne Kirkpatrick.
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The celebrated country artist and daughter of music legends Slim Dusty and Joy McKean watched her mother win the first ever Golden Guitar in the old building in 1973. Slim and Joy won most of the Tamworth Country Music Awards in those early days.
In July, Anne will return to her family's old stomping grounds to perform at Hat's Off to the Bush - a celebration of the bush ballad genre her parents pioneered, and she couldn't be more excited.
"It's very special performing at the Town Hall. It gives you goosebumps when you stand backstage thinking of all the people who've come before you," she said.
"I'm very proud of Mum and Dad for bringing the bush ballad to the place it is today."
The legendary couple blazed a trail both literally and figuratively. In 1954 Slim was working as a plasterer and the couple were gigging around Sydney. But they decided to spend all their money on a car and caravan and take their music on tour to "see if they could make a go of it".
"It was just like this lightning bolt went off when they decided to do what they did. They were a young couple in love, just married, what an adventure it must have been."
Anne beams with pride when speaking of the incredible legacy her parents left the industry, and country.
As they visited different places on the map, they put country music on the map. Not only did they share their music, they also gathered stories from the people and places they visited, recording them and sharing them with the rest of the country.
Anne was introduced to the lifestyle of a travelling country musician at a very young age - she first went on the road with the couple at the age of two. When she reached school age she went to boarding school, but she and her brother David Kirkpatrick would join their parents on the road during school holidays.
As an adult, Anne has continued to carry on the family legacy. She won an ARIA award for Best Country Music Album for her 1992 effort Out of the Blue. She has also won six Golden Guitar Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Awards - including one with her father for their 1991 collaboration Two Singers One Song. In 2007 her recording of Peppimenarti Cradle - penned by her mother - won Bush Ballad of the Year.
Now, at the age of 71, she is still living and breathing the country music life. She still performs live and spends much of the rest of her time working to preserve her parents' legacy at Kempsey's Slim Dusty Centre.
"Our family doesn't know the word retirement. I think my mum's last performance was at the age of about 80, and Dad was working right until he passed away."
Part of the annual Hats Off to the Country festival, Hats off to the Bush will take place on July 20 and will be the first iteration of an annual event.
It is the brainchild of fellow country music treasures Dianne Lindsay and Peter Simpson, who will also perform.
The headliners will be multi Golden Guitar winners Jeff Brown and Dean Perrett and multi-award-winner Glenn Jones. The bill will also feature Anne as special guest performer, as well as a number of up and comers including Caitlynn Jamieson and Paul Ricketts. The backing band will be led by Rod Coe from Slim Dusty's Travelling Country Band.
The event - which will be put on with the support of Tamworth Council - will also serve as the launching pad for the Tamworth Bush Ballad Awards.
Hats Off to the Country will see 60 artists performing across 20 venues from July 19-21. For tickets or more details visit www.hatsofftocountry.com.au.
