Musicians hit River Street to prepare for Open Streets
Published on 30 January 2026
If you enjoy new music or classics with a local twist, head along to the Macksville Open Streets Festival being held on Saturday 14 February. There’s an excellent line up of young and seasoned musicians, plus great food, markets and activities.
Yesterday Nambucca Valley Mayor Gary Lee and fellow Councillor David Jones caught up with two young musicians, Mahli Grant and Emily Taylor, who were practicing their Open Streets sets.
“After 2024’s hit festival in Macksville, Council in conjunction with the NSW Government’s Open Streets Program, led by Transport for NSW, are again delivering this free, all-ages festival in 2026,” Cr Lee said.
“The theme for this year’s festival is Rivers meet the Sea, something I feel both locals and visitors will connect with.
“I am looking forward to tasting our food businesses’ special menus, hearing some great music and watching the fireworks light up the Nambucca River.”
Yesterday Mahli and Emily practiced their guitars at River Stage in Macksville where Mahli played The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird from Hunger Games and Emily, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.
Both Mahli and Emily performed at Open Streets in November 2024 and they said the vibe was so great, they wanted to do it all over again.
“I really enjoyed playing for my community in 2024 and I’m even more keen to do it this year because my performance will count towards my studies at Coffs Harbour Senior College,” Mahli said.
Emily, who is also in Year 12 at Macksville High School, said she was looking forward to the back-stage learnings she gains when performing at professional gigs.
“It’s amazing to be able to perform at Open Streets because I am able to have creative freedom over what I perform and I can learn from its professional sound and lighting technicians, plus other musicians,” she said.
“My set for this year will include my own song, Heartbreaker, which I wrote in 2023, plus I feel you can’t go past Fast Car by Tracy Chapman – everyone connects with it.”
Minister for Transport John Graham said a broad range of excellent Open Streets Festivals were being delivered right across New South Wales.
“We’re excited to support the Nambucca Valley Open Streets Festival in Macksville,” he said.
“Too often our main streets are something we drive through, rather than drive to. Our main streets are a critical part of our social infrastructure, and this program demonstrates how we can use our streets to bring communities together and drive revenue for local businesses.
“The Open Streets Program temporarily transforms our main streets into thriving, vibrant public event spaces.
“The colour and diversity of these 240 events across NSW, celebrates the unique personality of each town or suburb. This is what our vibrancy agenda is all about, backing locals to create events and entertainment that works for their local community.”
Nambucca Valley Open Streets Festival is proudly funded by the NSW Government’s Open Streets Program, led by Transport for NSW. Council was successful in receiving $350,000 through the Open Streets Program over three years. For more information about the Program, visit its website here.