Latest news with #BayleysTussockCountry
Scoop
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Festival Tops $2.5M For Gore In Fourth Festival Year
The figures are in for this year's Bayleys Tussock Country – New Zealand's Country Music Festival, held in Gore from May 23rd to June 1st. With 72 events packed into ten days, the fourth annual festival attracted a 26% increase in attendances and an 18% rise in unique visitor numbers from across New Zealand and Australia. That surge in interest translated into an impressive $2.52 million injection into the Eastern Southland economy, according to post-festival economic data. Festival goers also stayed longer and did more while they were here. The average stay in Gore increased a further 7% from last year, and the number of events attended per person grew by 10%, highlighting the festival's broadening appeal. Additionally, average spend per visitor rose by 6%, reflecting stronger engagement with local businesses and hospitality. 'This was our fourth festival and it felt like there was a notable lift in patron numbers, and new faces from all around New Zealand,' says Trust Chair Jeff Rea. 'We're ecstatic to see that reflected in the data also, and the trajectory of growth is nothing but exciting for the region of Eastern Southland.' Festival organisers attribute the ongoing growth to an ever-expanding programme of events that appeals to a wide range of audiences. A prrivate home and room rental scheme supported by the community has also made it easier for visitors to stay longer in town. 'There's no doubt this year's lift can in part be attributed to the 50th celebrations of the MLT NZ Gold Guitar Awards,' says Rea. 'We acknowledge the tireless work of volunteers and key event organisations — the Gore Country Music Club, the NZ Songwriters Trust, the MLT NZ Gold Guitar Awards committee and the Gore District Council — who all share our vision of developing this relatively new festival concept into one of New Zealand's biggest and most successful annual music the festival's growth and the benefits it's bringing to our community is a welcome reward for the efforts of many.' Bayleys Tussock Country – New Zealand's Country Music Festival will return to Gore from May 22nd to May 31st 2026. Artist registrations open in September, with tickets on sale from November of this year.
Otago Daily Times
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Line dancers step out at festival
Diane Perkins teaches a group of Tussock Country festival-goers how to line dance at the Town & Country Club in Gore yesterday. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING A band from the North Island squeezed in some line dancing in Southland last week before taking to the stage later that night for Gore's country music festival. Instructor Diane Perkins had a full house at her beginners' line dancing class last Wednesday morning, teaching festival-goers and visiting group The Harmonic Resonators some country moves. Ms Perkins' students, with varying levels of skill, danced the "cab driver" to the band's song Kaitaraiwa — Māori for driver. The morning class, held at the Gore Town & Country Club, and the Resonators' later show at the St James Theatre were both part of the Bayleys Tussock Country music festival, which finished on Sunday. Band member and ukulele player Ryan McIntyre said his group all had a country music background, mostly centred around the Morrinsville Country Music Club in the Waikato. Two of his fellow musicians had competed in the festival's Gold Guitar Awards and Mr McIntyre said frontman Jeremy Hantler competed again this year, winning the traditional section. McIntyre also sings in another band and line dances while performing country classic Achy Breaky Heart. He said he was always looking for new dances and often filmed his feet doing the steps, because they were so easy to forget. The group also danced to Ron Mitchell's I'll Be Country and Ms Perkins said Mitchell's songs were great to dance to. There were more than a few giggles as learners stepped or turned the wrong way, but Ms Perkins said there was endless room for mistakes and it was about having fun.
Otago Daily Times
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Gold Guitars final crowd drawcard
The 50th annual MLT Gold Guitar Awards Senior Finals began impressively last night with a sold-out stadium and a jam-packed lineup of country music's finest. The event is the big finale for the Bayleys Tussock Country music festival, and what a show it promised to be for the 1100 people in attendance. Musicians brought their very best to the Gore Town & Country Club, all vying for their place among New Zealand country music royalty. There were plenty of home-town heroes such as the Mitchell family, with twins Nicola and Maegan competing against their father Ron in the singer/songwriter section. Notably Ron's daughter and the twins' sister Jenny Mitchell won the overall award back in 2017, setting a high watermark for the country music family. Fan favourite Jeremy Hantler, of the Harmonic Resonators, wowed the audience during the Traditional section, with an impressive show of vocal range and control. Australia sent over a bit of strong competition too, in the form of Jon Collins. The grand prize for the Senior category is $3000, a Martin D-28 Satin Acoustic Guitar, a fully produced single and publicity package as well as other prizes to help the winner's career. The winner will also be flown out to the 2026 Tamworth Country Music Festival to show off the fine work of the Gold Guitars. Finalists and winners were yet to be announced at the time of writing, and convener Phillip Geary said this year it was a strongly contested competition. "It's going to be a very close call this year. "Some years we can see it from the first audition, but this is a lot tighter. The quality is high, very high," he said. Mr Geary had a lot to celebrate, with sold-out shows across the block like the 50th anniversary Golden Guitars show on Thursday, which featured 22 past Gold Guitar winners. Heavy hitters from past and present set a high bar for the competitors, showing exactly what it meant to take up the mantle of winning the award. Mr Geary knew what the Gold Guitars meant for a young musician — a chance to rise the ranks into country music royalty. "This is a steppingstone for anyone who is serious about their career, and their music," he said.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Line dancers stepping out
Diane Perkins teaches a group of Tussock Country festival-goers how to line dance at the Town & Country Club in Gore yesterday. PHOTO: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING A band from the Far North squeezed in some line dancing in Southland yesterday, before taking to the stage last night for Gore's country music festival. Instructor Diane Perkins had a full house at her beginners' line dancing class yesterday morning, teaching festival-goers and visiting group The Harmonic Resonators some country moves. Ms Perkins' students, with varying levels of skill, danced the ''cab driver'' to the band's song Kaitaraiwa - Māori for driver. The morning class, held at the Gore Town & Country Club, and the Resonators' later show at the St James Theatre were both part of the Bayleys Tussock Country music festival, which runs until June 1. Band member and ukulele player Ryan McIntyre said his group all had a country music background, mostly centred around the Morrinsville Country Music Club in the Waikato. Two of his fellow musicians had competed in the festival's Gold Guitar Awards and Mr McIntyre said frontman Jeremy Hantler was competing again this year. He said he enjoyed line dancing and had learned the ''cab driver'' in the same venue at The Southern Stomp last year. McIntyre said he sang in another band and line danced while performing country classic Achy Breaky Heart. He was always looking for new dances and often filmed his feet doing the steps, because they were so easy to forget. ''We did cab driver at the start, and it was already gone after [the next dance],'' he said. Ms Perkins taught basic yet classic line dancing moves such as the grapevine, the k step, where you slowly step the outline of the letter ''k'', and a swaggering move where you step the letter ''v''. The dance teacher said the ''v'' step could sometimes look like you had just stepped off a horse. The group also danced to Ron Mitchell's I'll Be Country and Ms Perkins said his songs were great to dance to. There were more than a few giggles as learners stepped or turned the wrong way, but Ms Perkins said there was endless room for mistakes and it was about having fun. ''There's no line dancing police,'' she said.
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Cinnamon oysters: a staple of music festival
Ensign reporter Ella Scott-Fleming gets a preview of the cinnamon oysters masterclass — an event next Tuesday, as part of the Bayleys Tussock Country music festival. I first caught wind of cinnamon oysters when I was in Gore, as a newly arrived and ever-hungry Aucklander. I was intrigued and a bit unsure, as it sounded to my untrained ears like raw Bluff oysters with an interesting choice of spice sprinkled on top. I was relieved to learn they are actually mollusc-shaped, cream filled little sponges which are easy to make and even easier to eat several of, fast. Eager to try this mysterious treat, I enlisted only the best, seasoned professional Coral McCauley, to show me how it's done. Mrs McCauley's masterclass on making the bite-sized delights is returning to Tussock Country this year, where you, too, can bake — and taste — a cinnamon oyster. Making them takes no time at all, I learned, as Mrs McCauley uses a simple yet effective recipe adapted from the Edmonds Cookery Book , but with a slight twist. Her secret is she bakes them for less time than the old recipe says, making for softer, fluffier cakes — to which I can attest. Mrs McCauley, said she has been working at Gore's Gold Guitar Awards since its beginning in 1974 and this year will be her 28th on its committee. Her cinnamon oysters have been fuelling the country competition's judges for about that long, with Mrs McCauley turning the preparation and delivery of the delicacies into a fine art. She freezes batches of them pre-filled with whipped cream, she said, so they can be defrosted, creating an efficient and steady flow of baked goods for the judges all festival long. She said entries for the Gold Guitars used to come in cassettes that she would organise alphabetically. Now that everything was digitised, she was a bit left behind, she said, with the awards no longer needing her organisational skills. Nevertheless, working for the Gold Guitars for so long taught her the basics such as email, which she said she would never have learned had it not been for the ever-growing country competition. She was nervous to do her class on the oysters the first time, but now she said it was a piece of cake. In her special Tussock Country apron she removed the cakes from their brief time in the oven. I sliced the sweets with her electric bread knife as Mrs McCauley's husband, Gore country legend Max McCauley reminded me not to hurt myself. As I left their comfortable Gore home, the couple warned me I would not be able to eat just one and they were right. "One of my nieces eats about five at once," Mrs McCauley said.
