CEO of the Slim Dusty centre Kathryn Yarnold said the festival is already sizing up to be bigger and better than ever with booking numbers already surpassing previous years.

“This year is the 12th year of Kempsey’s Slim Dusty Country Music festival,” Ms Yarnold said.

“The booking trend at the moment supports the biggest year yet for the numbers of caravans and mobile homes on site. 

“We are currently filling the fourth bus of people to go on a guided tour to Slim’s boyhood home at Nulla Nulla and this year will be extra special with a country music entertainer lined up for each bus to enhance the experience. 

Ms Yarnold said that It is not too late to book and it’s not a festival just for campers on site with Macleay Valley locals encouraged to attend.

“People can purchase a ticket for individual days or concerts at the gate for each day,” Ms Yarnold said.

“The Slim Dusty Centre is expecting strong visitation from festival goers to come along and see the new museum dedicated to Slim Dusty. 

It was intentionally timed for doors to be opened to ensure that people who have supported the festival year after year were able to finally see the opened facility that their support has contributed to.”

Ms Yarnold said Saturday night will see, by popular demand, headliner Tania Kernaghan return to wow the stage along with this year’s winner of the Toyota Star Maker Award in Tamworth, Mickey Pye. 

“Along with these, the main Saturday night concert will also feature Anne Kirkpatrick, Dr David Kirkpatrick, Tom Maxwell, Dean Perrett, Trevor Tolton, Dianne Lindsay, Peter Simpson, and local award winning artists, Amos Morris, Steve Passfield and Kathryn Jones. 

The Slim Dusty Country Music Festival runs from October 19 to 25 at the Kempsey Showgrounds.