The Wolfe Brothers join Tamworth’s galaxy of stars amid country music boom
Almost 20 years after they visited Tamworth as keen country music fans, Nick and Tom Wolfe are now firmly established as one of the genre’s leading acts.
When Nick and Tom Wolfe first visited Tamworth with their parents in 2006, they were hellbent on soaking up as much country music as their young ears could handle.
Almost 20 years later, the siblings – who record and perform as The Wolfe Brothers – are now firmly established as one of the genre’s leading acts.
Before several hundred fans on a hot Thursday morning in the nation’s country music capital, the duo was inducted into the ‘galaxy of stars’ list as part of the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival.
The Wolfes joined the likes of Slim Dusty, Kasey Chambers, John Williamson and The McClymonts to have received the honour.
Each of these influential artists has been immortalised via portraits cast in bronze plaques embedded in the forecourt of the city’s entertainment centre.
“Tamworth has always meant a lot to us, from the time we were fans, to being artists,” Nick Wolfe told The Australian. “To get that kind of acknowledgment where our ugly mugs are going to be made part of this place – it’s mind-blowing, and we’re very grateful.”
The bittersweet edge to their newest accolade is that neither of their parents are alive to see what their boys have achieved: their father Malcolm died of cancer in 2017, while their mother Lee died suddenly in late 2022.
“These are the moments I get a bit sad,” said Tom Wolfe. “I did think about that this morning: ‘Jeez, imagine if they were here to see this …’ Mum would be full-on crying, and Dad would be prouder than proud.”
After being presented with their bronze portrait at the Toyota FanZone stage, as the midday temperature approached 40 degrees, the brothers stripped back their hard-rocking full-band sound to perform three songs in acoustic mode.
On Friday, their two sold-out shows at the Longyard Hotel – split between all-ages and adults-only crowds, respectively – will offer fans a chance to celebrate their newest win.
And at the annual Golden Guitar Awards, the brothers are among the leading nominees: on Saturday night they’re up for six trophies for their fourth album, titled Livin’ The Dream, after previously completing a rare four-award sweep in 2019.
Asked for their observations of the genre’s growth since that golden night five years ago, Tom said, “It’s in a very healthy place. We’ve seen so many independent artists use social media and TikTok to really blow up.”
“We worked a lot last year, and there was good crowd numbers everywhere, in theatres, pubs, clubs and festivals,” he said. “Lee Kernaghan told us it feels a bit like the [country music] boom he saw in the 1990s. We’ll grab it by the horns and run with it.”
The writer travelled to Tamworth as a guest of Tamworth Regional Council
More Coverage
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout