Country music fans came from as far north as Childers and Maryborough, Kyogle in the south, and all points in between as Nobby School of the Arts became the venue for another Country Music Walk Up festival over three days last weekend.

The van park at Nobby was full of caravans of all shapes and sizes as country music devotees settled in for three days of music and social interaction.

Thirty six artists were programmed to perform on Friday in front of a near capacity hall as big hats, coloured hair and cowboy boots became normal attire.

Typical of those visiting and performing was Lyn Anderson and partner Colin McCann who came from Carina in Brisbane. Lyn said this was their third time at the festival and they looked forward to it each year.

As members of the Redlands Country Music Club they are regular performers at festivals around the state and love camping at Nobby for the three days of the festival.

Another visiting artist was Lin Chandler from Proston a small town 70 kilometres north of Kingaroy.

Lin had worked as a professional Country Music artist recording numerous CDs.

She was performing at the Nobby festival for the second time and had just returned from the Anzac Day Spirit of the Bush Festival at Boondooma where she performed two Anzac Day songs , A Soldier That Never Returned and Red Velvet Poppy.

When not performing Lin also organises a successful Country Music festival in Proston which she said attracts a good crowd of 80 to 100 people each year that is a boon for the small town.

Closer to home was Rodney May from Leyburn who was performing at the Nobby festival for the third time.

Rodney, now an active 85 year old, only took up singing at age 70 and now performs on a regular basis at the Warwick Country Music festival.

Organiser of the Nobby event, the Nobby Heritage and Development Society, was pleased with the attendance and said the money raised helped to pay for regular maintenance of the hall.

A recently received government grant has been used to install solar panels on the roof and air conditioning units were installed thanks to the money raised from last year’s festival.

The Nobby Country Music Walk Ups not only provide a venue for performers to display their talents but also provide a great opportunity for social interaction for people from locations right across regional Queensland and northern NSW.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 9 May 2024.