Australian folk singer Fanny Lumsden and Invercargill singer Suzanne Prentice are headlining the week-long festival.
Southland-based acts Ron and Jenny Mitchell, Kayla Mahon, the Mitchell Twins, Jeff Rea and others will be joining the action, too.
Festival organisers have partnered with Allied Press to host the ODT Tussock Stage, which will feature songwriters Mel Parsons, Sam Bartells, Katie Thompson, the Mitchell Twins, Kayla Mahon, the Dollys and Maia Pereiha-Fletcher, across four shows.
The stage will provide a platform for New Zealand musicians to present their original music.
The MLT NZ Gold Guitar Awards, Tussock Country Ute Muster and Freeze Ya Bits Off Busking will all return.
New events included the Tussock Country Late Night, an evening appealing to patrons wanting to party, a cinnamon oyster masterclass with local baker Coral McCauley, and a karaoke night at Traffers Bar.
However, there will be an event exclusive to this year’s festival.
The world premiere of Capital of Country Music, a documentary chronicling the 50-year history of the Gore Country Music Club, will be shown.
For those yearning to delve deeper into the fabric of rural life, the annual Farm and Mai Mai Tour would provide an authentic glimpse into life on the farm and beside the duck pond.
With agriculture at the forefront of Gore’s economy, patrons are transported by four-wheel-drives to a few local farms, to meet the farmers and sample plenty of southern delicacies on the way, swede and duck included.
This event was a fundraiser for one of the smallest primary schools in the region, Te Tipua School.
With an additional 50 events happening at over 20 venues in Eastern Southland, over 10 days from May 24 to June 2, Bayleys Tussock Country — New Zealand’s Country Music Festival promises to provide patrons with variety, warm Southern hospitality, and a unique celebration of Eastern Southland’s soul.
More than 60 events will take place at the festival, which runs from Friday to June 2.
