Golden Guitar Winner Tom Curtain’s award-winning Katherine Outback Experience is returning to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, appearing at the AELEC arena for the first time as he debuts his new song, Red Hot Summer.
Tom, who is nominated for two Golden Guitars this year, founded the award-winning tourist attraction Katherine Outback Experience that he takes on the road for six months of the year – a blend of live music, real horse training, working dog demonstrations and bush storytelling.
His new single Red Hot Summer reflects on a turning point nearly a decade ago when Curtain met Annabel, who would later become his wife and creative partner.
“I was stranded on the side of a road when Annabel’s father stopped to give me a lift,” said Curtain. “It was a pivotal moment in my life that led to everything we have today.”
“At the time, Annabel was working as an urban planner but within a year she made the decision to leave the city life behind and move to the Northern Territory with me and together we built the Katherine Outback Experience.”
“It started as me, a horse, a guitar and my truck” Curtain said. “Now, we travel six months of the year with eight horses and a pony, 12 working dogs, four goats, three musicians and our two kids.”
Curtain will debut Red Hot Summer across two shows at the Tamworth Country Music festival, pairing his headline music show at the Longyard Hotel alongside the festival debut of the Katherine Outback Experience at AELEC.
“We’ve always had to stage the Katherine Outback Experience show well outside of Tamworth because of the space it needs,” said Curtain. “Being able to bring it right into town at AELEC for the first time is huge for us, and we’d love to see it become a regular part of the festival.”
Beyond the stage, Curtain is an official ambassador for Dolly’s Dream and regularly visits schools across regional Australia while on tour, speaking with students about kindness and looking out for one another.
Following the death of Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett, Curtain wrote the song Speak Up, which reached No. 1 on the Australian iTunes chart. The song, and related merchandise, has helped raise more than $100,000 to support anti-bullying education and resources for children in regional Australia.
Curtain has since expanded that work through his debut children’s book Snow Speaks Up, extending those messages beyond his classroom visits with five dollars from each book sale donated directly to Dolly’s Dream.
“Music has allowed me to give back to regional communities in a lot of different ways,” said Curtain. “I’m really excited to bring all that together in Tamworth.”
Event details:
Tom Curtain & Katherine Outback Experience
Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) Indoor Arena
9.30am, Tuesday 20 January 2026
Featuring special guests: Laura Frank & Chris Matthews
Live music, horsemanship and bush storytelling
Longyard Hotel, Tamworth
12pm, Wednesday 21 January 2026
Music only show
Featuring special guests: Laura Frank & Chris Matthews
For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.tomcurtain.com.au/all-tours/heres-to-you-tour/
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