COUNTRY music superstar Tim McGraw will headline this weekend’s 21st anniversary of the Deni Ute Muster.
What a hell of a thing for a town with a population of less than 8000 to attract one of the world’s biggest artists.
But little old Deniliquin has done it, and the event which attracts about 20,000 people from around the world will be bigger than Texas.
There will be plenty of Sunraysian fans making the trip, which celebrates Australian rural life, the iconic ute, and country music.
In Mildura, we have our own country music festival in full swing, although there are fears this could the last one with the current committee calling time after 30 years.
The support has dropped away, particularly it seems from within our own community, which for some reason has a vocal element who are hellbent on running it down.
Fortunately, Mildura Entertainment has announced it’s putting together a proposal to take over the reins of the event from next year, with plans to freshen up the format and attract younger audiences.
This should be music to the community’s ears, whether we all like the sound of acoustic guitars or not.
The bottom line is that country music is big business.
The likes of Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan are among the music industry’s top earners, right up there with Taylor Swift and Pink, and Australia’s Keith Urban had a quiet year by his standards, but still banked a cool $14 million in 2018.
McGraw, for the record, has sold 50 million albums, dominated the country charts with 43 No.1 singles and collected three Grammy Awards along with countless country music awards. He sells out stadiums around the world.
And yet he is coming to a ute muster in Deni.
While the Deni Ute Muster is on a different scale to the Mildura Country Music Festival, it should serve as an inspiration to what can be achieved by a town that embraces such events.
In opening the Mildura Country Music Festival, Mildura Mayor Simon Clemence hit the wrong note when he told the audience he didn’t like country music.
Light-hearted jibe or not, it demonstrated apathy towards the event from a community leader, and that is a voice the community follows.The festival should be celebrated, not mocked.
It has injected millions into the economy over three decades and Mildura should be forever grateful to the work of organiser John Arnold and his committee.
If the reins are to be handed over, there’s a fantastic opportunity to not just keep the event ticking along, but grow it.
Maybe even think bigger with what could be achieved.
When the Deni Ute Muster started 21 years ago, I doubt very much the organisers ever dreamt that McGraw would one day be headlining the event?
But they have proven to be the little town that could.
Can’t help but take your hat off to them.
