THE city's major venues will fall silent if Tamworth Regional Council next week acts on a recommendation to cancel the 2021 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
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Wests Entertainment Group chief executive officer Rod Laing said venues such as theirs would "be very unlikely" to host any shows during January.
Several venues were set to meet on Thursday to discuss options for next January, however the meeting has been cancelled since festival organisers announced next year's event was unlikely to go ahead.
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"Individual clubs will now assess their own needs, wants and move forward that way," Mr Laing told the Leader.
"We had a phone catch-up with the South Tamworth Bowlo and The Servies Group, like us, the South Bowlo said they would be unlikely to do anything and The Servies may look at doing some solo shows.
"There is quite a few months to go and while some venues may be looking for a miracle, there's no miracle coming at this point."
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the state government was looking at ways of supporting industries impacted by the potential cancellation of the festival.
"We are in the midst of a pandemic and the regions are wearing the brunt of it," Mr Barilaro said in Tamworth on Tuesday.
"We've got to reboot tourism and while people are unable to travel overseas we need to promote regional NSW.
"We are looking at investments around tourism, helping drive tourism again and supporting businesses like we have done in the past."
The annual country music showcase attracts more than 40,000 visitors to the region and contributes more than $50 million into the local economy.
"I think the Deputy Premier has been on the front foot in being part of helping to reopen businesses," Mr Laing said.
"As far as stimulus for business, JobKeeper is the federal government and we are looking at a being in a world of pain as that comes to an end for some businesses.
"From that perspective, it would be interesting to see what kind of help the state government could provide."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
