Andrew Swift's dream of hitting the road and touring with a band was suddenly cut short when a severe bout of glandular fever left him bedridden for three months.
As the singer-songwriter slowly recovered, he feared his music career was over before it had even begun.
A decade later, in the glittering afterglow of winning his first Golden Guitar country music awards in 2019, the pandemic scuppered plans to try his luck in Nashville.
Like many artists navigating the music industry, Swift has times when he's running on nothing but fumes.
But the lows make way for moments he compares to fireworks: winning three of those shiny awards, watching crowds sing along to his songs and dating his girlfriend when he was supposed to be in the US country capital.
"Anyone can relate to working their butt off, feeling so drained and so run down, but then you get these moments where you just know it has totally been worth it," Swift told AAP.
"I always tell young artists it's a tough industry and to find motivation in the smallest of wins - they keep you fuelled, they keep you going."
Swift and his country colleague Amber Lawrence have captured the peaks and pitfalls of chasing their dreams in a song called Fumes and Fireworks, a collaboration that has earned them a Golden Guitar nomination.
A win at the awards during the Tamworth Country Music Festival on January 25 would be the fourth for Swift and the seventh for Lawrence.
Though Swift was once reluctant to let people use the c-word - country - to describe his sound, he said he owes his career to Tamworth.
Now with three number one ARIA country albums under his belt, Swift describes his time at the festival in 2015 as an epiphany.
While co-hosting a radio show, he interviewed 70 artists over five days and learnt about the diverse genres in country.
"I fell in love with it," he said.
"Having that realisation that's what I wanted to do with my life, all because of Tamworth, was pretty crazy.
"To go back there every year, it's my favourite week of the year, it motivates me for the rest of the year and gets me fired up to work harder."
The 53rd Tamworth Country Music Festival kicks off in the NSW regional city on January 17, featuring shows from Australia's biggest acts including Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley and The Wolfe Brothers.
Tamworth's sun-drenched main drag will be a stage for hundreds of hopefuls, with buskers young and old set to line Peel Street.
Triple Golden Guitar nominee Max Jackson will return as the festival's ambassador, buoyed by country music's move to mainstream charts around the world.
"People are craving more connection," Jackson told AAP of the global shift, led by Beyonce's album Cowboy Carter.
"Country music is very rooted to something in Australian culture, which is sitting around with your mates, telling stories and having a beer, playing music that you love."
Jackson, a rising star who released three popular singles in 2024, is set to play her biggest show to date at Tamworth and will host the awards.
Swift is expecting more fireworks in 2025, releasing his new single Nothing Better in late January, going on tour and welcoming a daughter in May.
"In lockdown, I went on a second date with my girlfriend," Swift said.
"Five years later here we are, baby on the way."
Swift will play a free show at Tamworth on January 22, along with a ticketed performance on January 25.
Max Jackson will play at the Longyard Hotel in Tamworth on January 23.
