Derek brings home the goods

The country music festival, celebrating its 50^th year, saw 220 competitors across more than 25 award categories in its talent quest, to go alongside a ‘packed’ program of events.

Mr Thompson placed in six of his seven events, coming first in three of them: senior male vocal, open instrumental and senior duo/group, performing alongside Katie Hamblin.  

Mr Thompson said his sweep of the awards was out of the blue, and he was “stoked” to have done as well as he did.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said.

His parents, who still live in Nyngan, where he was born, called him up and encouraged him to enter, saying it could be one of the last years the show ran the talent quest.

He said they told him as a lot of the organisers were getting older, talent quests were becoming less common, especially around the Central West. 

Mr Thompson said he performed in “six or seven” talent quests a year, from Nyngan to Tamworth, until he turned 21, before taking time to focus on his career. 

“I’ve been performing since the age of nine, singing and playing guitar,” he said.

“I was walking around the house singing as a kid and my mum got me lessons and we just sort of took it from there.

“My teacher played guitar so she got me into that as well.”

He said he loves the “adrenaline rush” of performing.

“Once you get up there, you’re relaxed, the audience gets into it and they enjoy themselves too,” he said. 

The talent quest attracted the best crowds they’ve had “in years”, according to Parkes and District Country Music Association vice president Lindy Charlton.