Macksville provides biggest audience for Tom Curtain’s ‘Katherine Outback Experience’

MACKSVILLE Showground filled with almost 700 people on Friday 9 January, marking the largest crowd so far to attend Golden Guitar winner Tom Curtain’s award-winning Katherine Outback Experience national tour.

From the moment the first horse galloped into the ring, the Mid North Coast audience was fully engaged with the performance.

“The energy was unreal,” Curtain said, still buzzing after the show.

“You can feel it when a crowd’s really with you, and Macksville brought it from the first minute.

“Kids dancing in the dirt, families having the best time.”

Part concert, part rodeo, the show featured eight horses, 12 working dogs, four goats, three musicians, and one very determined pony named Pumpkin.

Kids lined up for sack races, then Curtain waved adults in to join the fun.

The crowd roared as parents and grandparents bounced and stumbled their way down the track.

That sense of fun carried into the main show, which included real horse training, sharp working dog demonstrations, bush storytelling, and plenty of unscripted moments as the animals’ personalities took over.

“No two shows are ever the same because the animals are running the show as much as we are,” Curtain said.

“You do your best to prepare, but there’s always that edge of unpredictability, which keeps it real.”

As dusk settled, the showgrounds became a dance floor as Curtain was joined by musicians Laura Frank and Chris Matthews to perform songs from his country chart topping album, Here’s To You.

He also performed old favourites like his 2019 ballad Speak Up, written following the death of Amy “Dolly” Everett.

The song reached No.1 on the Australian iTunes chart and, along with related merchandise, has helped raise more than $100,000 for anti-bullying education and resources for children in regional Australia.

“When you look out and see parents and kids standing there singing that song together, it really hits home why we keep doing this,” he said.

“It started from something heartbreaking, but now it’s about connection, and that’s exactly what nights like this are about.”

The Macksville show came about after Curtain met local horsewoman Katie Elson at Equitana in Melbourne in 2024.

After hearing about the Katherine Outback Experience, Elson encouraged him to bring the show to Macksville, helping set the wheels in motion for the Mid North Coast stop.

Curtain thanked Elsom from the stage, calling her out by name and asking her to stand for a round of applause from the crowd.

“That crowd was something special,” he said.

“We’d absolutely love to return.”

By Andrea FERRARI