Berry has secured $200,000 in funding through the NSW Government’s Uptown Grant Program, launching a major new destination campaign designed to encourage visitors and locals to stay longer, spread visitation across more days, and ease reliance on peak holiday periods.
Recently named a Top Tourism Town finalist for the third year running, Berry will roll out the campaign, called Extend the Weekend, through A Day Well Spent, a four-part live music series running from February to June across multiple venues in the village.
The series will bring a mix of high-calibre touring acts and standout regional talent to Berry, spanning genres including country, jazz and blues, indie, funk and soul. Events will take place across different days of the week, aiming to boost mid-week and shoulder-season trade while strengthening Berry’s cultural offering.
Precinct Coordinator Kate Dezarnaulds said the campaign was a grassroots effort shaped by people deeply invested in the future of the village. She said local businesses have shared that trade patterns have shifted since COVID, with activity now heavily concentrated around Saturdays, school holidays and long weekends. With rising costs and tighter household budgets, she said having locals out on a Thursday night or visitors staying an extra night can make a real difference to business viability. Extend the Weekend, she explained, is about responding to those pressures and supporting Berry businesses beyond peak periods.
Berry is one of the first regional communities selected for the Uptown Grant Program, alongside Nowra, Huskisson and Sussex Inlet. The program focuses on transforming CBDs across regional NSW into thriving hospitality and cultural destinations through locally led, sustainable strategies. In Berry, this includes investing in the local creative economy through paid collaborations and evolving the town’s destination brand, with promotion delivered through partnerships with local content creators across music, hospitality and accommodation.
Taylor Hudson from The General Store, one of the participating venues, said the campaign reflects a proactive approach to supporting regional hospitality. She said it is a challenging environment outside of holiday peaks, but the live music series is about innovation and collaboration, testing new ways to share audiences, lift mid-week and shoulder-season trade, and give people more reasons to spend time in town.
The series will launch in February with a country-themed weekend that celebrates Berry’s agricultural roots while blending classic storytelling with contemporary country sounds. The opening weekend will feature a major Sunday daytime session across multiple venues, headlined by award-winning New Zealand artist Jenny Mitchell, who is appearing at this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival, alongside modern country-rock act Jacob Fitzgerald & The Electric City.
The February Sunday session will also include performances from local favourites The Freewheelers, Tropical Strength and Illawarra-native Grace Mae from the Tamworth Academy of Country Music. Thursday night shows will feature Alex Clark, Loki Hines, Solo West and Amber Kenny, all artists with strong regional connections.
South Coast live music programmer Harrison Hall from Holy Pavlova said the opening bill was designed to signal both ambition and quality. He said securing artists of this calibre puts Berry back on the national touring map and, just as importantly, helps rebuild everyday connections between musicians, venues and the community.
Following the February launch, the series will continue with themed weekends across the year, including Jazz and Blues in March, Indie in May, and Funk and Soul in June. Each themed weekend will run across Thursday to Sunday, with the opening Thursday positioned as a locals-first experience aligned with Berry’s refreshed destination brand.
All live music is provided to venues free of charge, with bookings required at some locations. Full details and future announcements will be released closer to each event date.
More information is available at extendtheweekend.berry.org.au.