Country music has the power to speak to the soul, the mind, and the heart of the individual. This provides a platform for people to choose their story through the power of music.
“There is a story with every song,” South Australian based country music lover Tom says as he cracks open another cold beer in the mid-afternoon Queensland sun.
Although it is only 25 degrees celsius, the sun blisters down like a bird on its prey.
On the outskirts of Ipswich, Southeast Queensland, the bushland is full of loud live music, the smell of stale sweat lingering through the crowd of smiling faces under big, brimmed hats. An event this large, consisting of three stages, artist meet and greets, markets, food stands, and a live sports bar, is a national event treasured by the true-blue country music fans travelling from all ends of Australia.
This is the event of the three-day international country music festival, running in March each year.
The Australian arts landscape has shifted with the promotion and support for regional live tourism, in supporting and strengthening rural and regional events.
Nothing encompasses this more than the three-day international country music festival of CMC Rocks, held in Ipswich, Southeast Queensland.
A country music festival for all ages, filled with live music, flowing drinks, and the Aussie sun belting down through the thick gum leaves. A range of artist fill the event line up at the most recent installment, from Queensland based rising country star Lane Pittman, to US country artist Jon Pardi, this three-day packed festival is nothing short of a wild time.
With its roots of old dirt roads and rural home life, country music has grown to resonate in the hearts of many.
“There is a song for every mood to make you feel good,” says Kristian K, from South Australia, as she sits fanning herself in the March Queensland heat. Listening to the music echo throughout the bar, her mate Glenn, from Sunnybank, Queensland, seconds this. “Party or depressing, it all depends on where your head is at when listening to country music,” Glenn says as he hums to the tunes of US country music duo Brooks & Dunn steaming from the bar’s speakers.
With such a large audience expressing their connection to country music, whether they are a city folk or from the outback, the Queensland Government has taken this event into their stride in providing this iconic Queensland event.
The Queensland’s sector of Arts provides funding for festival streams, with CMC Rocks being a priority in ensure their spot is secured within the Queensland sector for Tourism and Sport, supported by Queensland Minister for Tourism Michael Healy.
“We fought hard against a southern poaching raid to keep this event in Queensland; it injects $14 million into the local economy and contributes to the state’s mega events calendar worth $850 million” Healy said, empathising the importance of keeping regional tourism alive. Other states have also demonstrated this, with events such as the Tamworth Country Music Festival based in Tamworth, New South Wales and Mundi Mundi Bash in Broken Hill, New South Wales, becoming a pivotal point in keeping regional Australian tourism alive.
CMC Rocks requires exceptional organisation to ensure its success, with Queensland journalist for the Courier Mail, Ayla Connolly expressing this.
When asked about CMC Rocks’ growth throughout the past years she says, “there is a similar amount of people, but it is more set out every year, with merch being more organised and an overall better layout.”
With this, CMC Rocks has also received more support as Alya states, “CMC now has more food choices, a sports bar, and brand support from YETI, which has brought in so much more people!”
