As country music’s popularity surges across the globe, Eastern Southland is also lapping up the growing interest in the genre.
The New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards in Gore is set to celebrate its 50th birthday this year, coming at a time when interest reaches new heights.
Gore Country Music Club president Julie Mitchell said the competition had come a long way from the 33 entries when it first started.
They had had more than 700 entries for each of the past few years and this time she was expecting more.
The NZ Gold Guitars 50th Anniversary Concert, half the tickets for which are already sold, would feature returning winners.
"We’ve got a lot of the oldies and the goodies coming back to celebrate 50 years."
Mrs Mitchell also acknowledged the boom in the genre worldwide as a catalyst for a rapidly increasing appetite for the festival.
"Country music has obviously taken the world by storm."
Convener of the NZ Gold Guitar Awards committee Phillip Geary agreed country music had skyrocketed to the competition’s benefit, especially in the past few years.
In particular, he had noticed a "big increase" in the intermediate section, which covers the 13 to 18-year-old range.
Mr Geary said the first person who stood out when looking back at past winners was Camille French (nee Te Nahu).
Mrs French won the award in 1998 and was now "well established" in Nashville, Mr Geary said, performing as part of the French Family Band.
Kylie Harris, who won in 1992, also "does very well" in the country music world capital.
Mr Geary said the awards had taken its own steps to change its image over the years.
"Originally it was country and western, and we deliberately keep the word western out of it now," he said.
The change in image and increased popularity in the genre had been reflected in pop culture, with Beyonce’s country album Cowboy Carter winning Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy Awards.
Many country artists, such as Luke Combs, had developed a more modern look and sound.
Tussock Country Festival marketing manager Annabel Roy said ticket sales were launched in December, eight months before the festival, to allow time for national and international guests and visitors to book flights and plan trips to Gore.
She said the festival would feature some "unique" concerts at the St James Theatre this year, including the te reo-incorporating Harmonic Resonators, veterans the New Zealand Highwaymen and the Mitchell Family Band.
The family band features Mrs Mitchell’s husband Ron and her daughter Jenny, both Gold Guitar alumni, and twin daughters Maegan and Nicola.
"Every year the festival is growing quite rapidly, so we’re really excited for this year," Ms Roy said.
