Ainslee Allen will headline on the Friday night. Photo / Supplied
Ainslee Allen will headline on the Friday night. Photo / Supplied
Like most summer festivals affected by Covid-19 border restrictions, next week's Marton Country Music Festival will have an all-Kiwi line-up.
"It takes a whole year to organise, so Covid slowed things down a bit," organiser John de Burgh said.
"As soon as we could operate again it was just amad rush, but things are very much on track. We've had more online bookings than we normally have, so that's a good sign."
He said the 2020 edition had purposely been a "New Zealand showcase", and because of international travel restrictions, the same idea would apply to the 2021 event, which starts on Thursday.
Titahi Bay's Ainslee Allen will be the headliner on the Friday night, and Jaydin Shingleton, from Westport, is booked to play last on the Saturday.
"Ainslee is pretty well known, and she goes right back to the days of McDonald's Young Entertainers," de Burgh said.
"She was on that, and she has done a lot of other TV stuff as well, including the big New Zealand talent shows. She's a really fantastic singer and recording artist, and she has won the Golden Guitar Award down in Gore.
"Jaydin's also won the Gold Guitar Award, as well as the New Zealand Country Music Entertainer of the Year. He's a fantastic entertainer and singer.
"They're both top of the line and they do a good range of country, from traditional right through to more modern stuff."
De Burgh usually expected up to 400 to 500 campervans at the festival, but parking on the site could hold double that if required.
"There's nothing wrong with that, because there's some great talent out there. There are some good younger artists coming through as well.
"Part of our lineup includes a youth section from 1pm to 6pm on the Saturday."
Another feature of the Saturday schedule was the busking competition, set to take place in the town of Marton itself, de Burgh said.
"People (festival patrons only) can come along and sign up, and they just go out and busk. We'll have two judges wandering up and down the street, and the musicians won't know who they are.
"There'll be small prizes ($100 for first and $50 for second) for the winners."
Westport's Jaydin Shingleton is top of the bill on Saturday. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand country music maintained "a really good following", de Burgh said.
"Unfortunately, like most things these days, it's an ageing following. We're working hard to try and get a few more of the youth singers through, and encourage them a bit more.
"We also work with the New Zealand Country Music Association, and they're currently looking at establishing a youth-only type of circuit and competition, so we can encourage kids to do their best and grow."
Festival organiser John de Burgh says country music maintains "a really good following" in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
People would start to arrive at the festival on the Wednesday, de Burgh said, with"a bit of a get-together" planned for earlybirds that evening.
"On Thursday night we have an informal walk-up concert and then the actual event starts on Friday."
Other artists on the bill that people should keep an eye out for included Carylann, Marian Burns, and Roger Tibbs, de Burgh said.
"Carylann plays keyboards and the accordion, and she's got her own sound. Marian is just a little ball of energy.
"Roger Tibbs is a very, very well known country music artist, and he's been offline for a while because of a personal family tragedy. This is his first time back for a while. He's really well thought of in the country music scene, and he's a great yodeller to boot."
