“I’ve been dreaming of going to Tamworth ever since I heard about it when I was young”. After four decades in Aotearoa’s country music scene, that dream is getting into a rhythm for Aroha Williams.
Tamworth is Australia’s answer to Nashville, and its annual country music festival in January is the genre’s holy grail in the Southern Hemisphere.
Its stage will be Aroha’s after she won the Overall Classic category at the coveted mid-year Gold Guitar Awards in Gore.
“It’s been a dream of mine to go over there, being able to meet and learn from other musicians, and find out if this is actually the road that I would like to take with my music professionally,” she says.
With Tamworth not a pennyworth, Aroha is appealing to the public to make her long-awaited, 10-day trip unforgettable.
A Christchurch resident for eight years, “home is where the heart is, and my heart is in Motueka”, says Aroha, who lived in the town for 17 years and had taught guitar in local schools and briefly served on the Motueka Country Music Club committee.
She’ll be headlining the Motueka A&P Show in December and raised $2400 in a fundraising concert at the Motueka RSA last month, a welcome shot in the arm for Tamworth which is estimated to be to the tune of $6000.
"The main costs that I’m looking to cover are any train transfers, petrol costs, a rental car, and accommodation… I’ve already been lucky enough to have won my return flight to Australia,” she says. “I was taken aback by the amount of support and love from all my friends and followers who have supported me that night at Motueka RSA. I couldn’t have asked for a better night.
“My deepest gratitude to everybody at the Motueka RSA for believing in me and for supporting me and for helping me with my fundraising efforts.”
Other costs for the single mother include taking her seven-year-old son Theo to The Wiggles live and attending performances by her Australian and Kiwi country music idols. Visit: givealittle.co.nz/cause/trip-of-a-lifetime-2 to donate until December.
