2006 sees The Hats Off To Country Festival enter its 7th year. Since its inception in 2000, Hats Off To Country has developed a solid reputation as one of country music's major events. This year will see many of Tamworth's finest pubs, clubs and venues hosting a wide variety of country music. Hats Off To Country is a special mid-year celebration of country music in Tamworth - Australia's Country Music Capital.

Since the winter festival began in 2000, it has steadily grown to become a four-day event, with the Tamworth Camerata Graduation Concert the first major show on the program, staged in Blazes auditorium at Wests. To make 2006 the best event ever a huge variety of great acts and a packed program has been carefully created. Here's some of what the Tamworth organisers have in store.

On Saturday night, Lee Kernaghan, with a brand new album in tow, will present a concert at Tamworth Town Hall, ably supported by his Golden Guitar-winning sister, Tania, and the stunning McClymont Sisters.

On the Friday night fans will have the opportunity to catch up with 2006 Male Vocalist of the Year Troy Cassar-Daley "Up Close and Personal" with an intimate concert at The Pub. Unlike most concerts at The Pub, this is a $25 ticketed show.

There's traditional style country with several bush balladeers performing at selected venues, such as the Oasis Hotel, Lindsay Butler Studios' auditorium, SouthGate Inn's Scully Room and at The Pub.

Brian Howard's Wire Strainers, Brian Young, Tom Maxwell and Ernie Constance, and the Young Balladeers (Amos Morris, Nathan Charlton and Matt Manning) will take you on a sentimental journey through Australia's past, with their story-songs of the bush and its people.

More contemporary country can be found at venues such as The Albert, where Matt Scullion and the Lost Moments feature and Tamworth's newest musician in residence, Jeff “Gibbo" Gibson kicks off proceedings on Thursday night.

At the Central Hotel, there's a jam-packed program with the Jason Lee Band, Alex Watt Band, Dan Mureau and the Contractors and the Rod Dowsett Band turning up the heat from Thursday through to Saturday.

Goodtime bush music is the order of proceedings at Joe Maguire's Pub, with Festival favourite, Sydney band Simply Bushed providing the entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights.

Tamworth Services Club showcases two of its favourite acts from January – the Col Finley Band and Luella, the foxy lady who fronts the Blue Heeler Band. Luella is giving her band the weekend off, so it's pure Luella, for the enjoyment of members of the Marius St establishment and their guests.

Wests is always a major player in January and has enlisted classy local acts The Rockerfellas and The Baileys, along with imported bands, Buckshot and The Pigs, to round out their Hats Off program at Wests and Diggers.

January Festival favourite Bill Chambers returns to The Pub for his very popular picking sessions on Saturday and Sunday, while new discovery The Huckleberry Swedes will make their official Tamworth debut in a late night show on Friday and an 8pm Saturday gig at The Pub.

The Tudor presents a mix of country and middle of the road, with classy soloist Dave Craz performing on Friday night and Sally-Anne Whitten on Saturday.

The Longyard's regular entertainment on Thursday night features Paul Albert and on Sunday at lunchtime, you can relax under the grapevines enjoying the smooth style of Rob Breese.

Two package shows of interest to balladeer fans are the Brian Young Show at SouthGate Inn on Sunday at 3pm and the ABBA/Bronze Bust Fundraiser at that same venue on Saturday afternoon.

And of course don't miss The Capital Country Music Association's Winter Junior Talent Quest at the Family Hotel, with performers 16 years and younger, taking their turn on stage, vying for prize money and trophies over the two-day event.

As part of CMB's committment to supporting up-and-coming country artists, they assist performers with a wide range of subsidised production services. This includes full music video production such as the clip below by country music artist Ruby Rose Taylor, or the more traditional on-location approach taken in Dave C. Cawthorn's "When Will It Rain?" filmclip. In the digital era, country music artists require more than just demo sound recordings.

The "demo" music video clip has become an important promotional tool and a means of reaching thousands of country music fans worldwide via services such as YouTube®, MySpace®, Facebook® and many other internet based video sharing or social networking websites.