My Weekend In The Hunter Valley

Hello lovelies! I had such a blast this weekend - it was insane! For those not in the know, I was in the Hunter Valley for the annual CMC Rocks the Hunter, which is a yearly 3 day festival of country music in the Hunter Valley. I believe it used to be in Jindabyne before they moved it down here. I love, love, love country music, and couldn't believe that it was so easy to persuade my friends to go with me!

It probably also helped that I actually managed to find accommodation at $25 per night. In the Hunter Valley. Which they honoured. CRAZY cheap! I think there was a glitch on their system!

The first day was pretty cruisey, with us driving up in a group of four (Mr Prince doesn't enjoy being in the pictures, so you won't see him much in it at all!). Miss GS and Mrs AM are pictured above, with this trip being their first, but certainly not their last, to the CMC festival!

After last year's experience, and seeing everyone walk around in specially made up t-shirts, I thought I'd give it a go, budget style. I bought some tank tops, Mrs AM bought the stencil, and given that I already had fabric paint left over from a baby shower game, I traced out the letters, then did a bit of free hand drawing at the end. If you can read the words on it,"If you ever get lonely", it's the title of a song by Love and Theft, pictured further below.

By the way, check out the cowboy boots! Miss GS AND Mr Prince bought a pair at the festival each and really got into the swing of things!

They managed to get some interesting names for the festival, including Thompson Square, and they put on a great show! Married for 15 years to each other, can you believe? They're quite youthful looking.

And that's Love and Theft! For anyone who's looking to ease themselves into country music, I really recommend that you give them a go. It's kind of a pop/country vibe, and these guys were really nice. I lined up for about an hour in the hot sun (and talked to some lovely strangers), and when I got to them, Stephen Barker Liles (on the right, below), was really tickled by my top, and both of them signed it!

Aren't they the cutest?

In fact, when they realised that my friends were wearing matching tops, they got them to jump in and get them signed too! I also got a hug for my efforts - definitely worth the time it took to do them! I applaud the groups that take the time out to appreciate their fans - they've got my full support!

It was also great between the acts that we really wanted to see, to just chill out on the grassy area and shoot the breeze with my friends. I've known these lovely ladies for over 10 years, and you couldn't ask for a nicer, more sensible set of people. 

While it rained a little over the weekend, it actually wasn't too bad for us, as we also got to spend some time indoors, and we had rain jackets.

We rounded out the weekend by wearing hastily drawn tank tops by moi, once again, this time with "Who's your daddy?" written on it, as a reference to a Toby Keith song, who was closing out the show. For those who really want to get into country music, Toby Keith is a huge name that you'd want to listen to!

I wasn't really expecting to make these tops, but I figured - why not? And it was tons of fun, having others wearing the same exact top! My friends are definitely good sports!

I also managed to catch a snap with an amazing Texan band, the Eli Young Band, and I'll actually be watching them again this evening at the Toby Keith concert in Sydney! I also managed to not-quite-twist-her-arm-because-she-actually-really-wanted-to get Mrs AM to come with me! 

And there you have it - my entire wardrobe for the weekend was made up of  some sunscreen, shimmer powder, denim shorts, cowboy boots and tank tops. Bliss! I can't wait to do it all over again! Only about 362 days left to go!

How was your weekend? Did you enjoy the sunshine, if you were in Sydney?