Mount Isa mayor Tony McGrady said he would begin discussions after rodeo next week to create a festival which would allow the city to 'take its place as the state's country and folk music capital'.

But Mount Isa Folk Club president and The Shack organiser Sally Pryor said incorporating a mixed bag of music would be the better option.

"I'm a supporter of live music in Mount Isa full stop," she said.

"But I think certainly it shouldn't just be country music.

"Because we've got such a transient population, we get a lot of people (playing at The Shack) who do covers of modern bands and are into acts you might hear on Triple J.

"And with the Shark Bar I know they have a bit of an underground following of heavy metal bands as well."

Ms Pryor said from her experience running the event, a festival set-up which incorporated different stages or areas for different types of music could be something the Mount Isa crowd would go for.

"You would need maybe a contemporary stage, a band stage, an acoustic stage for folky kind of stuff, and then you could fit country in with that," she said.

Cr McGrady said the idea was to hold the country festival after the city's rodeo to continue the event.

"We have the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere which will go hand in glove with a country music festival," he said.

"We also have excellent venues - the Buffs Club, Irish Club and of course Buchanan Park which are perfect for such an event.

"Mount Isa and the North West in particular are blessed with many talented musical people and a great love of country and folk music. A festival will provide a perfect vehicle for local musicians to gain recognition and significantly bolster national and international tourism to our city."

Cr McGrady said once rodeo wrapped up he would convene a meeting with interested parties to brainstorm ideas.