THREE years ago, music industry manager and promoter Wendy Gordon made the move from Tamworth to the tiny rural settlement of Calliope on the mighty Clarence River near Grafton to be near family.
She took on a small beef operation, “Alkira Park”, with the help of neighbours, respected graziers Ken and Kerry Watters, who manage the cattle.
It was just in time for three of the most hellish years season-wise the Clarence Valley has seen.
Three floods where most of the farms around Calliope went completely under water, a massive hail storm, and drought for the second half of last year added up to enormous heartache for those on the land.
Still, Wendy is in love with the Clarence.
“Yes, the natural disasters have given me first-hand experience of how tough life on the land can be but it’s also shown me how country people pull together,” she said.
“When we were under water, people would stop by in their boats to check on us and see if we needed something picked up in town.
“No one was left on their own – the people here have an amazing resilience.”
As the region battled to get back on its feet, an idea started to form in Wendy’s mind for a way to both boost the local economy and to celebrate the community spirit of the Clarence.
And so began plans for new ground to be broken on the North Coast – the first Clarence Valley Country Music Muster.
“The concept started over dinner with friends and family and from the minute we started talking about it, people came on board and started asking what can I do to help,” Wendy said.
To be held the first three days of November, coinciding with Grafton’s annual Jacaranda Festival, the muster has attracted a top line-up of respected artists including Ted Egan, who will make the trip form Alice Springs, Glenn Jones, Lindsay Waddington, bush poet Ray Essery, Alisha Smith and Keith Jamieson, the Kross Kut Showband, and balladeer, Terry Gordon.
In 30 years as a country music entertainer, balladeer, songwriter, comedian and television host Terry Gordon has seen a fair bit of the country, heard many a yarn and met plenty of good people.
The Clarence Valley is a place he is especially fond of.
One of his most popular and requested songs grew from a stop-over in Grafton during a tour with American music legend Tom T Hall in the early 1990s.
Terry, who will headline the Clarence Valley Country Music Muster, tells how the American had dozed off while travelling and woke up in the midst of blooming jacarandas.
“He was so taken by the sight he started writing and by the time we got to Tamworth he had “I’ll be with you when the jacaranda blooms” done,” said Terry, pictured with Clarence Valley beef producer and chef Pete Watters, Calliope, and muster organiser, Wendy Gordon.
Terry recorded it that same year and it has been one of his biggest hits.
The recipient of some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including Country Music Entertainer of the Year, Australia’s Living Legend and an induction last year into the Entertainers Roll of Renown, Terry said he was first to put his hand up for a spot at the Clarence Valley muster.
“I think this will be the start of something iconic,” he said.
Wendy is no wannabe in country music circles – she has played a major role in past Tamworth country music events, is somewhat of a marketing guru in the industry and has managed the likes of Tania Kernaghan and Adam Harvey.
“I wanted to give back to this community and to celebrate its spirit,” she said.
Her cattle have been notified they’ll need to move on for a few days, the Watters have been brought in as ground managers and catering co-ordinators (son Pete is a chef), and word has gone out that caravaners, campers and coaches will be welcomed.
A marquee that can host up to 300 will provide the main stage and hot meals will be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The muster will raise money for local schools, hospitals and charities; local shops will set up stalls on site and locally-grown produce will be on sale.
“We really have no idea how many to expect but we’ve had inquiries from Far North Queensland to Melbourne and South Australia,” Wendy said.
The plan is for it to become an annual event and any profits from this year will be poured back into making the 2014 event even bigger and better.
“The first one is always the hardest to get off the ground but we’ve done the hard yards now and with the support of neighbours and other locals, and the council, our muster is about to burst onto the country music stage,” Wendy said.
Tickets are $30 a day.
Visit www.cvcmuster.com.au
