Tamworth Could Be Set To Become Regional NSW’s Year-Round Live Music Capital

Tamworth might be best known for coming alive during its annual Country Music Festival, but a new move is set to keep the city buzzing well beyond festival season.

Tamworth has become the first regional city in NSW to establish Special Entertainment Precincts (SEPs), with two trial areas launching across the CBD and the city's Sports and Entertainment Precinct.

The precincts introduce tailored trading hours and sound rules designed to give local hospitality, live music and entertainment venues more room to operate, while encouraging new investment in the city's night-time economy.

Jump to:

• What Are Tamworth’s New Special Entertainment Precincts?
• What Will The Entertainment Precincts Mean For Tamworth’s Nightlife?
• Why Is Tamworth’s Special Entertainment Precinct A NSW First?
• What Happens Next For Tamworth’s Night-Time Economy?

What Are Tamworth’s New Special Entertainment Precincts?

Rather than creating one designated nightlife district, Tamworth Regional Council is trialling two distinct precincts reflecting the different ways locals and visitors experience entertainment across the city.

The first covers the Tamworth CBD, home to much of the live music and nightlife that comes into its own during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. The second encompasses the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, which hosts major concerts alongside sporting and equine events.

Tamworth Regional Council received $200,000 through the NSW Government's SEP Kickstart Grant program to establish the two trials.

What Will The Entertainment Precincts Mean For Tamworth’s Nightlife?

At the heart of the model are tailored trading hours and sound rules, giving entertainment and hospitality operators greater certainty around when and how they can operate.

The trials are intended to support more live music, nightlife and sporting events throughout the year, while making it easier for local artists and performers to find opportunities and encouraging investment in new and existing venues.

They could also help protect Tamworth's established live music scene as the city grows. Residents and prospective home buyers within a SEP are notified that they're moving into an area where later trading and higher sound levels are supported by council, with business noise complaints assessed against the specific settings established for the precinct.

For a city balancing established music venues with new residential development, the idea is to give both businesses and residents clearer expectations from the outset.

Why Is Tamworth’s Special Entertainment Precinct A NSW First?

While Special Entertainment Precincts are already operating elsewhere in NSW, Tamworth is the first regional city to establish one.

Its two new trials bring the number of SEPs across NSW to 11, with more than 20 others currently at various stages of planning.

Tamworth's approach will also offer a test case for how the model can work outside metropolitan nightlife districts, potentially paving the way for more regional towns and cities to follow.

What Happens Next For Tamworth’s Night-Time Economy?

The two precincts are trials, meaning consultation with local businesses, creatives, residents, police and other stakeholders will help determine the settings that work best for Tamworth.

Council is also exploring Purple Flag accreditation, an international framework recognising well-managed night-time destinations.

For the Country Music Capital, it's another step towards making the live music, hospitality and entertainment synonymous with January's festival a much bigger part of the calendar year-round.

Image credit: Tamworth Country Music Festival | Instagram