Max Ellis on how Tamworth became Australia's country music capital

When Radio 2TM staged the first Country Music Awards as a part of their long-term Country Music Capital promotion in 1973, who knew just how huge the festival would become.

Tamworth welcomes over 50,000 visitors to town every January for a major celebration of the genre and this major event has now become Australia’s largest music festival.

Former 2TM general manager, Max Ellis, played a fundamental role in the festival's inception, and he remains very much hands-on when the event comes around each year.

In a 45-minute podcast interview, 2TM announcer Sally-Anne Whitten chats with Ellis about the early days of the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the country music awards.

Max explains what it is about country music that draws thousands of fans to the festival every year, the integral role radio 2TM played in the development and promotion of the festival and how the country music industry has since progressed.

2TM is proud of its country music heritage, a tradition that conmtinues today with a weekly Australian country music top 20 chart, released every Thursday and a one hour show each Friday from 4pm, highlighting the top ten tracks from the chart.

The station also hosts a songwriters session each Wednesday afternoon and a two hour dedicated Australian country music show every Saturday morning called The Country Mile.

The station's general manager, Nikki Kenwrick, is very pleased with the response 2TM is receiving from its listeners as the station continues to support Australian country music.

The Our Country podcast highlights the industry in a way that the station has not done before, and enables festival visitors to stay in touch with the station after their visit.