Mayor: Cities Share a “Love and Appreciation” of Country Music
(NASHVILLE, Tenn. – June 10, 2013) Mayor Karl Dean was joined by Mayor Col Murray of Tamworth, Australia during CMA Music Fest week in signing a treaty that officially joined Nashville and Tamworth as sister cities. Tamworth is the seventh sister city to Nashville.
Tamworth is known as the “Country Music Capital of Australia” and annually hosts the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January. The signing ceremony was held last Friday to coincide with the CMA Music Festival taking place downtown last week.
“Our shared love and appreciation of country music make this Sister City partnership a natural fit,” Mayor Dean said. “I look forward to a rich and long-lasting relationship that gives our citizens opportunities for musical, artistic, cultural and educational exchanges.”
The signing ceremony was held at the Hall of Fame Rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Ten delegates from Tamworth, including three city “councillors,” visited Nashville to take part in the ceremony and the CMA Music Festival. Tamworth officials had an educational booth at Fan Fair X as part of CMA activities.
“There have been many links developed between Tamworth and Nashville over the years through the affinity both cities have for country music,” Mayor Murray said. “It is fantastic that we are now formalizing our Sister Cities relationship after years in the making.”
Tracy Kane, president of the Sister Cities of Nashville board of directors, said, “For the past several years, citizens from Nashville and Tamworth have been traveling to each other’s cities as part of an informal exchange process that leads up to the official sister city designation. This visit is the culmination of those exchanges and an opportunity for leaders of both organizations to discuss plans for the future.”
Clare Bowen, the Australian actress/artist who portrays Scarlett O’Connor in the television show “Nashville,” attended the ceremony. Australian duo Mark and Jay O’Shea and singer Morgan Evans performed. The husband-and-wife O’Sheas have multiple No. 1 singles in Australia and live and work in Nashville. Evans, who currently has the No. 1 song in Australia, considers Music City his second home and is recording his newest album in Nashville.
As part of the Sister Cities gift exchange, Mayor Dean presented Mayor Murray with a framed gold record commemorating the Sister Cities signing. Mayor Murray presented Mayor Dean with a watercolor landscape of Tamworth by Tamworth artist Yvonne Overton.
Nashville’s other sister cities include: Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Edmonton, Canada; Magdeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; and Taiyuan, China. More information about Sister Cities of Nashville is available at www.scnashville.org.
About Sister Cities of Nashville:
Sister Cities of Nashville (SCN) is a 501c3 non-profit, membership-based organization whose mission is to connect the people of Nashville with people of the world, promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation. Mayor Karl Dean serves as the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities’ Board of Directors. SCN is a chapter of Sister Cities International, based in Washington D.C. and founded by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 as a way to promote peace through citizen diplomacy.
Above: Tamworth Mayor Col Murray and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean sign the treaty that officially links Nashville and Tamworth as Sister Cities in the Hall of Fame Rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo Credit: Gary Layda, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Above: Members of the Tamworth Delegation at the Sister Cities Signing Ceremony. Top row (L to R): Judy Coats, Tamworth Mayor Col Murray, Councilor Helen Tickle, Councilor Tim Coats, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, GM – Tamworth Regional Council Paul Bennett, Carol Murray, Gail Bennett, Country Music Hall of Fame Museum Director Kyle Young, Tamworth Country Music Festival Coordinator Kate Baker. Bottom row (L to R): Mark O’Shea, Clare Bowen, Jay O’Shea and Morgan Evans. Not pictured: Tamworth Regional Council Director of Business/Events John Sommerlad, CEO West Entertainment Group Rod Laing. Photo Credit: Gary Layda, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Above: Music Executive Bob Saporiti, CMA Board Member/AristoMedia CEO Jeff Walker, Country Music Hall of Fame Museum Director Kyle Young, Tamworth Mayor Col Murray, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and CMA Board Member/ Entertainment Edge CEO Rob Potts join Australian performers (seated L to R) Mark O’Shea, Clare Bowen (“Nashville”), Jay O’Shea and Morgan Evans at the official Sister Cities Signing Ceremony. Photo Credit: Gary Layda, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
