Country music performance by Max McNown as the nighttime headliner at the Howlin' Rock N Rodeo festival on the Newcastle foreshore.
Max McNown headlines the night session of Howlin' Rock N Rodeo on Saturday 13 February, part of the new two-session format for Howlin' Country on the Newcastle foreshore. The festival has grown into one of the city's biggest country music celebrations, and this year it's splitting the day in two: a daytime session from 10am to 4pm and a nighttime one from 4:30pm to 10:30pm. Organiser Moe Matthew says the idea is to let new country fans experience the music with their families during the affordable day session, then take it up a notch into the night.
McNown takes the night headline spot, with Kasey Chambers headlining the day. Chambers is one of Australia's most celebrated artists, with 15 ARIA Awards, 28 Golden Guitars and 13 studio albums. McNown comes from Oregon, where he started out busking in Southern California and built a following of more than 2.6 million TikTok followers and multiple Platinum records. Across both sessions, the line-up includes The Wet Whistles, Tori Darke and Cheap Whiskey DJs, with Ellis Undercover playing during the day. The festival follows two previous editions that booked Lainey Wilson, Morgan Evans, Kaitlin Butts, Flatland Cavalry, Paul Dempsey and Tyla Rodrigues.
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It's not just about the music, though. PBR Australia is producing the rodeo action — their first full Australian rodeo production — with bull and bronco riding and barrel racing running alongside the stages. There's also line dancing, a mechanical bull, a Silent Saloon and a Little Howlers play area for the kids. If you're coming for the whole day, the Howlin' Pass covers both sessions: A$129 for children and A$165 plus booking fees for adults. Otherwise, the day session is A$49 for children and A$99 for adults, and the night session is A$99 for children and A$129 for adults.
