Tooheys will take centre stage at the 2025 Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival, with the iconic New South Wales brewer announced as the event’s new official beer partner.
It marks the first time the brand has taken on the top sponsorship role at Australia’s largest country music celebration, despite having long been part of the city’s pub and live-music culture.
The partnership cements a relationship already familiar to locals. Tooheys is Lion’s most-poured tap beer in Tamworth, and for decades has been part of the festival experience in pubs, clubs and beer gardens across the region. The new arrangement means festival-goers will see the brand even more prominently when the event begins in January.
Karen Sterling-Levis, Lion’s Brand Director for core beer, said the partnership reflects a shared connection with regional New South Wales.
“For over 150 years, Tooheys has proudly backed NSW communities.
“The Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival reflects that same spirit, bringing the state’s culture and its country-town pride to life on a national stage,” she said.
“We’re proud to support an event that means so much to the artists, the locals and the fans who return year after year.”
Under the deal, Tooheys will be available across the entire festival footprint, including a dedicated Tooheys Country Pub in Toyota Park. The beer will also be poured at a wide range of participating venues such as Wests Tamworth, Wests Diggers, The Longyard Hotel, The Tudor, Joe Maguire’s, Courthouse Hotel and the Tamworth Services Club. The well-recognised blue and red branding will feature throughout festival spaces, signage and media.
The partnership ties neatly into the company’s push to reinvigorate live music venues across the state through its Tooheys On Tour campaign. The program, which supports venues to bring fans back to live gigs, recently earned national attention when rock band Dune Rats scored an ARIA nomination for their re-imagined version of the classic “I Feel Like a Tooheys” jingle. The nomination for Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement underscored the brand’s efforts to support artists and keep live performance at the centre of community culture.
Festival Manager Barry Harley said Tooheys’ longstanding presence in the region made the partnership feel “natural”.
“The Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival has always celebrated the stories, talent and community that come out of country towns.
“Tooheys has been part of that landscape here for decades, so formalising this partnership felt like a natural step.
:It’s a brand that understands and supports regional NSW, and we’re pleased to have them join us in championing the festival and the people who make Tamworth feel like home.”
The festival, now in its 53rd year, is expected to again draw tens of thousands of visitors to Tamworth, filling venues across the city and generating millions in economic activity. With Tooheys taking up a more visible role, organisers say the partnership reinforces the festival’s reputation as both a celebration of country music and a showcase of regional New South Wales’ hospitality.
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