US Troubadours Kip Moore & Kelsea Ballerini Lead Snowy Mountains Country Music Fest Line-up

The hills — well, mountains — will come alive with the sounds of twangy, home-cooked musical goodness when the 2016 Snowy Mountains Country Music Festival makes its return to Thredbo next year, announcing a line-up of acts to warm ears and hearts alike, led by acclaimed US country stars Kip Moore and Kelsea Ballerini.

Moore will hit the slopes (or a stage set up thereon) fresh on the heels of his new studio full-length, Wild Ones, currently lighting up the US Country Albums Chart and Billboard Top 200, on which it made its debut at #2 and #4 respectively, while Ballerini is enjoying fresh momentum off the back of her nomination as a finalist for this year's Favourite Female Country Artist prize in the American Music Awards, as well as Female Vocalist and New Talent Of The Year categories at the 49th annual CMA Awards.

Both stars bring an air of exclusivity to proceedings, but they're not alone in their responsibilities; the event's organisers have ensured that local talent hasn't been forgotten either, with venerated Aussie musician Daryl Braithwaite also signed on for the snowy spectacular, as well as contemporary stars such as Morgan Evans, Amber Lawrence, Adam Eckersley Band, Deep Creek Road, The Weeping Willows and Little Georgia — and the acts are as stoked to be on the way to SMCMF 2016 as the punters should be.

"I only have great memories from being in Thredbo, no matter what time of year; it's such a perfect setting for a music festival," Evans — a returning star of the festival, back by popular demand — said in a statement. "This year was a blast and I'm even more excited about showing it off to some of my American mates around in 2016 — Kelsea Ballerini and Kip Moore are going to love it!"

General-release tickets will go on sale from 9am on Tuesday 1 December, with early-bird passes available from 9am this Thursday, 22 October (until 30 November, or allocation exhausted). Hit the event's website for more information.

The 2016 Snowy Mountains Country Music Festival runs in Thredbo from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 March.