The 2022 Toyota Golden Guitar Awards are shaping up to be one of the best in history, with Tamworth Regional Council and the Country Music Association of Australia Inc (CMAA), announcing a record number of entries for the 50th anniversary event.

More than 760 entries have been submitted for the 2022 awards, the most ever received.  The previous record was 656 entries in 2019.

CMAA Chairman, Mr Dan Biddle, said: “This year has seen a 22 per cent jump in the number of entries, which is extremely pleasing to see. This record number of submissions is a great indication that Australian country music is thriving and growing despite the past 18-months, which is encouraging and motivating for fans and the industry.”

The Toyota 50th Golden Guitar Awards will be held at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre (TRECC) on Saturday, January 22, with the ABC returning to be the Awards' broadcast partner.  

Toyota Golden Guitar Awards Executive Producer, Mr Peter Ross, said the 2022 Awards night will run at close to full capacity with a mix of table seating and tiered theatre seating.

“This year we ran a scaled-back event, due to COVID-19, with mostly industry in attendance. In 2022, we are planning for a near-normal Awards night where the fans and the stars come together. The event will of course be in line with any current NSW health guidelines, but the NSW Roadmap gives us enormous confidence that we can have the great night out that we all deserve after the last 18 months.” 

As well as a record number of overall entries, the 2022 Toyota Golden Guitar Awards have also seen category records broken, with a top number of entries in the APRA AMCOS Song of the Year and Apple Music Single of the Year award categories.  

Mr Biddle said: “The 2021 Awards saw an exceptional number of entries in the APRA AMCOS Song of the Year category, with 111 entries, and we’re excited to announce that record has been topped again for 2022, with 124 submissions.

“In the Apple Music Single of the Year category there were 120 entries, just topping the previous record of 119 set in the 2021 Awards.”

Mr Biddle added, “There were also significant entry increases across the Male Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Country Music Capital News Group or Duo of the Year categories, further highlighting the growth in interest in country music in Australia.”

Tamworth Regional Council and the CMAA will announce the nominees for the 2022 Awards at 11:00am AEDT on Tuesday, 23 November 2022, at the city’s Town Hall. 

Mr Ross said: “The Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall is a fitting place to announce the nominees as it was the venue where the first Golden Guitar was handed out back in 1973. We like to call it the spiritual home of Australian country music.”

The nominees announcement will be streamed live and include performances, with other country music artists and key industry members in attendance.

Mr Ross said: “We understand some artists may still not be able to travel, particularly those interstate, so we will be also live streaming the nominee announcement via our social media channels.”

Tamworth Regional Council and the CMAA look forward to welcoming artists, musicians, songwriters and fans back to the Country Music Capital in 2022, to celebrate excellence in Australian country music and the country music community camaraderie. 

Mr Ross said: “While the industry continues to be challenged, we are committed to delivering a safe and memorable Awards night, which recognises the strong and enduring nature of artists and fans and paves the way forward for growth and proliferation of the industry.”

To keep up to date on the 2022 Toyota Golden Guitar Awards, the 50th Country Music Awards of Australia, visit www.tcmf.com.au/awards