The countdown is on to the Australian country music night of nights, the Golden Guitar Awards, on Saturday, January 24.
The concert and awards presentation will feature chart-toppers, industry leaders and emerging voices at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, heralding the end of the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Across the night, 12 live performances will cover the breadth of Australian country music, from mainstream to alternative and traditional roots.
James Johnston will open the show with One More from his album Where You’ll Find Me, a record that has already claimed the Golden Guitar for Top Selling Australian Country Album of the Year based on ARIA chart data.
Hayley Jensen will follow with Giddy Up Cowboy, continuing a strong year that has seen her album Country Soul attract widespread support from country audiences.
Kasey Chambers will take to the stage twice during the program. She will first perform The Divorce Song with Shane Nicholson, before returning later in the night to sing Ntaria alongside Warren H. Williams.
The performances also include Sons of Atticus, Tyla Rodrigues, William Alexander and Brendon Radford, while 2024 Toyota Star Maker winner Wade Forster will perform Last of a Dying Breed. 2025 Female Artist of the Year Max Jackson will present A Country Heart Can, a song that debuted on national television last year.
Amber Lawrence and Casey Barnes host the awards ceremony, while Max Jackson will also co-host the red carpet alongside Tamworth drummer Adam McCann.
Presenters on the night will include Lyn Bowtell and Ella Hooper, joined by Tamworth Golden Guitar winner Ashleigh Dallas, Sara Storer, Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys, Fanny Lumsden, Kristy Cox, Adam Harvey and Troy Cassar-Daley.
NSW Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy John Graham will attend the ceremony to present Song of the Year and Top Selling Australian Country Album of the Year, alongside 2025 Galaxy of Stars inductee Luke O’Shea.
Cheryl Brown and ABC Saturday Night Country host Beccy Cole will present the Roll of Renown, recognising artists who have made a lasting contribution to Australian country music.
Tickets are on sale, but if you can’t make the ceremony, it will be streamed via the Tamworth Country Music Festival website and Facebook page.
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