Tussock Country

How do you distil the essence of a good time?

We reckon we’ve cracked it.

Tussock Country, New Zealand’s Country Music Festival, is an annual celebration in Gore, Eastern Southland, and has fast become the annual pilgrimage for Aotearoa’s country music community. If you’re a country music fan and haven’t been to Gore, New Zealand’s Capital of Country Music, this is your personal invitation.

Across ten vibrant days, more than 80 events bring together locals, visitors and fans from all corners of the country to celebrate music, storytelling, food, rural life and genuine southern hospitality.
 

Next event date: 22 - 31 May 2026
Location: Gore
Keen to learn more: tussockcountry.nz

Tussock Country is the energetic beating heart of the fresh, new country-crossover movement in New Zealand.

With over eighty events spanning ten days of back-to-back action, your social life in Southland has never sounded so sweet. 

Get front-row at the MLT NZ Gold Guitar Awards, Aotearoa's biggest talent quest uncovering the super voices of the future. Polished stars shine. Raw talents emerge. Be the envy of your friends – when you say: “I saw her before she made it big.”

Secure your ticket for the festival's gala evening, Country Music Honours. It’s authentic songwriting on show, with musicians telling uniquely Kiwi stories – from love songs to joyous harmonies expressing connections to our land. That sweet spot where songwriting and storytelling meet, creating a truly memorable experience as you connect with an artist’s innermost thoughts. ‘Bearing their souls’, as Johnny Cash put it.

Inspiration is on tap at the Green Bird Café Sessions where musicians gather to sing a few acoustics tunes. You never know who might roll up and jam out a few songs.

You might even feel inspired to join in the Open Mic Session - go on, whip your name up on the blackboard and show us what you’ve got. 

Explore the host of different festival venues nestled around the town - clubs, restaurants and bars, theatres and street fronts.  

Listen to street buskers while you’re out and about during the ‘Freeze Ya Bits Off’ competition, rally your decked wheels at the annual Ute Muster, try something new at beginner workshops, from line dancing and ukulele lessons to rolling the perfect Southland cheese roll and wet your whistle at Old Hokonui Moonshine and Food matching event. 

But don’t think all the entertainment happens after the sun goes down.

Fly in a vintage aircraft, view world-class art, browse fashion boutiques, sample Hokonui moonshine or take a stroll in Gore’s native bush surrounds – all in the shadow of the beautiful Hokonui Hills.

We know you dance to your own tune, we’d love you to come dance to ours.

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