Rockwiz rolled into town on Tuesday for an entertaining night of music, trivia, and fun in front of a 700-strong audience as part of the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
For host Brian Nankervis, bringing Rockwiz to Tamworth meant returning to a town they’d been twice before, but was his first visit to the Country Music Festival
Having previously played Tamworth Town Hall in 2010 and again in 2024, they jumped at the invitation to be part of the festival.
“We loved Tamworth,” Brian said.
“I suppose the chance to come back during the festival was really very welcome and we thought, ‘yeah, let’s do it’.”
This time around, the show took over the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, trading the intimacy of the Town Hall for the scale of the room best known as the home of the Golden Guitar Awards. It brought another level of excitement for the team.
“It was exciting because we knew that’s where the Golden Guitars are held,” he said.
Rockwiz may has been running for two decades and is a full live show now, after being a long-running television music trivia show.
Brian said the Tamworth show was deliberately reshaped to salute country music and he estimated that about 90 per cent of the questions were country-leaning, drawing from a broad church that spanned outlaw country, bluegrass, country rock and classic songwriting.
“We’ve been doing it now for 20 years, so it’s really good for us to keep changing and keep trying new things,” he said.
The performances reflected this with Ross Wilson delivering a standout version of Hank Williams’ Angel of Death, while Henry Wagons and Ella Hooper – fresh from recording in Nashville – added their own perspectives to songs. One of the more unexpected moments came courtesy of the Rockwiz Orchestra performer Olympia, who took on Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ’Em, which Brian said pushed everyone a bit outside their comfort zone.
“It was challenging for us to step out of our comfort zone and do something different, so it was great,” he said.
Festival energy was already high before the show began and Brian said they enjoyed walking Peel Street on Monday night with the buzz unmistakable, likening Tamworth to the Melbourne Comedy Festival in the way the whole town became part of the event.
“There’s posters all over town and there’s so many shows,” he said.
“It’s exciting, but you also think, boy, there’s a lot of people putting on shows. I just hope everyone gets a little look in.”
The brief stay meant missing some of the headline concerts, including Troy Cassar-Daley and Kasey Chambers, but there was time for a welcome reunion with Beccy Cole, who had appeared on a Rockwiz show in Adelaide just before Christmas.
Brian said he chose the contestants himself, with local artist Sarah Carroll earning her place through the opening trivia rounds, adding a touch of Tamworth to the night.
Two moments stood out for Nankervis. One came before the show officially began, when an Emmylou Harris track on the pre-show playlist sparked an impromptu boot-scooting competition, complete with Rockwiz tea towels as prizes. The other was watching his own band take on Texas Hold ’Em and make it their own.
After just 36 hours in town, Tamworth clearly left its mark, with Brian saying they would love to come back.
“It’s a great city and great festival.”
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