The former Gunnedah singer-songwriter said the upcoming Tamworth Country Music Festival will give him plenty of opportunities to do just that.

“That’s where you can tell your stories and play your originals and they’re a listening crowd and they want to buy the album,” Dan said.

“As a singer songwriter that’s what you live for; that’s the pinnacle. That’s why you do it.

“A lot of my stories are just about life. That’s the common thread – that everyone thinks, ‘That song’s written about me’.

The musician said he was often approached by people who said they related to his original songs.

“It takes them to that last place where they remember; whether it’s childhood, whether they’ve found love or lost love.”

Dan will be playing at eight venues over ten days and said his band is ready to deliver the goods.

“I do it for the crowd, that’s my whole driving purpose of music, to entertain them,” he said.

“A lot of them are farmers that are doing it tough. Not just farmers – a lot of people are going through economic hardship.

“It’s a real privilege if people want to come and spend that very limited amount of leisure time with us.

“You’ve got to entertain the crowd - just let them forget about their worldly troubles for an hour or two.”

This year, Dan said “premier” venues such as South Tamworth Bowling Club and Wests had contacted him five months in advance to ask what gig slots he wanted.

“Previous years you had to skimp and crawl and beg the venues to get the gigs and now they contact me months out," he said.

“It’s a great relationship and the faith that they’re putting in us is pretty amazing.

“We reward the faith that the venues show in us by entertaining the crowd and having fun.”

The musician said he felt rewarded for consistently putting in “A-grade” performances at gigs when he was building his career.

“It’s been a sort of earn-your-stripes journey for me,” he said.

“I’ve just sort of kept plugging away.”

Dan said he was now well known by fans for his classic country look.

“I keep it very original country - I’ve got the hat the boots, the jeans, the collared shirt. That’s the George Strait and Owen Jackson image I relate to as far as country music,” he said.

“That’s just my style. 

“People like it so it gives me that freedom to be who I am.”

The artist said the festival was a “rigorous campaign” with early mornings, late nights and limited sleep but he was always careful to take care of himself.

“It’s a balancing act,” he said.

“I take it fairly seriously and I want to finish as strong or stronger than I started. I don’t want to run out of steam and let the quality disappear at the end.”

The festival will kick-off Dan’s year and help build his audience.

“The people that see me at the festival, that can set me up for the rest of the year as far as the venues, private shows, weddings, parties,” he said.

“It’s one of the premier festivals in the world and I just love the whole dynamic of it – the people the music, the venues.

“That’s probably the comfort fact – you feel like the people that come from all over Australia – 60 or 70,000 people – come for country music.”

For a full list of Dan’s gigs during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, visit his Facebook page.