The organisers of the Tamworth Country Music Festival are confident the event will proceed as normal in January.
The NSW Government has announced the 50-person cap for indoor venues will be scrapped from July, which will allow venues to one person per four square metres of space.
Provided all patrons are ticketed and seated, festivals will be permitted to have up to 10,000 attendees from next month, much to the relief of Tamworth Country Music Festival director Barry Harley.
"This is really heartening and it just further signals that the Tamworth festival for 2021 is full steam ahead," he said.
Organisers have been developing plans for the festival based on three possible scenarios — no restrictions, light restrictions, and heavy restrictions.
Mr Harley says TCMF is better positioned to go ahead than other events because it is venue-based.
"We've always been of the mind that there would be a festival regardless," he said.
"I don't think anyone could cancel it."
July festival goes online
The July 2020 edition of the smaller Hats Off To Country Festival has been moved online.
Rockabilly singer-songwriter Shelley Minson said playing a concert from their home would be a different experience for her and her guitarist husband, Lawrie.
"I really get a lot of enjoyment from watching the people getting up dancing," she said.
"So we just have to imagine them dancing around in their loungeroom at home."
The festival's organiser, Cheryl Brown, says while the bulk of the festival will occur online, a select few artists may choose to perform live under reduced restrictions.
"We will check in with those people who are performing live … we'll make sure people can see them," Ms Brown said.
Mr Harley said he hoped attendance might be higher than usual if international travel restrictions were still in place over summer.
"The could very well be an increase in the numbers of people who find time on their bucket list to finally come to Tamworth," he said.
