TAMWORTH'S very own Ash Dallas has taken out Female Artist of the Year at country music's night of nights, the 2022 Golden Guitar Awards.
Dallas' track with Luke O'Shea Long Way 'Round also took out the CMT Video of the Year - co-directed by Jay Seeney and Luke O'Shea.
Speaking to the Leader on the red carpet, Dallas said she was "a bit emotional" to be at the event for its 50th year.
"It's just so nice to be celebrating in my beautiful hometown of Tamworth," she said.
"It's really special. It's a huge honour to just be nominated."
When accepting the award for Video of the Year, Dallas said her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when O'Shea asked her to collaborate.
"This song has brought me immense joy in every single part of the creation journey," she said.
"I want to say a big thanks to everyone who's played this song, got around it and shared the video clip and felt the joy that this song has brought for me."
Shane Nicholson topped the ranks, taking home four Golden Guitar Awards for Toyota Album of the Year.
His ninth studio album Living in Colour saw him take out Alt Country Album of the Year, with his track You Will Have Your Way crowned APRA AMCOS Song of the Year and Apple Music Single of the Year.
His wins were closely followed by record-breaker Troy Cassar-Daley, who claimed three awards including Male Artist of the Year, making history with 40 Golden Guitar Awards.
Cassar-Daley has surpassed country legends Slim Dusty and Lee Kernaghan with the greatest number of Golden Guitars ever won by an individual artist.
His album The World Today claimed gold in the Top Selling Album of the Year category, while his track South with Ian Moss was named Vocal Collaboration of the Year.
And, Cassar-Daley celebrated with an incredible live performance of Back On Country, the lead-single from his award-winning album.
The always hilarious Beccy Cole was inducted into the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown, recognising country music trailblazers and industry icons.
She has won 11 Golden Guitar Awards and released 10 studio albums.
The awards recognise recordings released between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021 - with 17 handed out on the night.
The Wolfe Brothers took out the Country Music Capital News Group or Duo of the Year, with their nostalgic album Kids on Cassette winning Contemporary Country Album of the Year.
They hit the stage with a special performance of Something Good's Gonna Happen with special guest Amy Sheppard.
Country Music Association of Australia chair Dobe Newton congratulated everyone who brought the awards to life.
"Five decades is a truly remarkable moment to celebrate and tonight we honoured and saluted the legends and icons of the industry," he said.
"And we celebrated new talent and up and comers, who'll no doubt one day leave a fantastic mark on Australia's country music scene.
"Congratulations everyone and here's to another 50!"
Country-folk artists The Weeping Willows also picked up two awards, with their single Black Crow named Bluegrass Recording of the Year, which the duo performed live on stage at the awards.
Their track Southern Gothic was also crowned Coca-Cola Instrumental of the Year, taking their total number of Golden Guitar wins to three.
Toyota 50th Golden Guitar co-host and performer Adam Harvey took home his ninth Golden Guitar Award, with his 15th studio album Songs From Highway One named Traditional Country Album of the Year.
While singer-songwriter Angus Gill's The Easy Way, co-written with Manfred Vijars, took out Bush Ballad of the Year.
Australian country-pop group Darlinghurst was crowned New Talent of the Year for their track Where Do We Go, while alt-country singer-songwriter, Michael Waugh took out Heritage Song of the Year for the title-track off his fourth-studio album Dirty River.
Boy from the Bush Lee Kernaghan was treated to a star-studded tribute to mark the 30th anniversary of the release of his iconic, multi-platinum breakthrough album, The Outback Club.
The performance featured The Wolfe Brothers, Catherine Britt, Christie Lamb and James Johnston, artists Kernaghan has inspired and nurtured throughout his career.
Other performances on the night included Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Ashleigh Dallas, Angus Gill, and new talents Camille Trail, Cass Hopetoun, and Raechel Whitchurch.
NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said Tamworth, the event organisers and the musicians had shown incredible resilience in overcoming the challenges of recent years.
"2022 marks the 50th Golden Guitar Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, a momentous milestone celebrating our very best performers and emerging stars of country music," he said.
"The festival is one of our most unique events, it's Australia's largest music festival and one of the top 10 music festivals in the world.
"The variety of country music and shear depth of talent is astounding."
And, festival-goers can save the date for 2023, with the 51st Tamworth Country Music Festival dates set for January 13 to 22.
