13 replies to this topic

[bbcentral]

I bought my tickets and booked my flights/accommodation:
http://www.bluesfest.com.au/

Here's the list of artists so far:
Ben Harper and Relentless7
John Butler Trio
Missy Higgins
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Lucinda Williams
Zappa Plays Zappa
Angelique Kidjo
Tinariwen
Eric Bibb
Seasick Steve
Tony Joe White
Ruthie Foster and her band
Blind Boys Of Alabama
Watermelon Slim & The Workers
Toni Childs
Luka Bloom
Alpha Blondy
Alabama 3
Easy Star All Stars
Augie March
Blue King Brown
Saltwater Band
Sonny Landreth
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Benny Gallagher
Bob Log III
Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges
The Bamboos
Watussi
Lowrider

(Yes, a lot of them are unknown local artists).

And the most exciting news...BLUES TRAVELER IS COMING!
It's posted on their official website, they're coming to Australia next year! 2 days in Byron Bay, then Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

This is only the first announcement, there's usually 2 or 3 before the event with more artists.

If I said I was excited, it would be an understatement! :D

[Syd-Blues]

I'm very happy for you, but some of those artists, aren't......blues.......

[bluesharp]

Have a fantastic time Chris,let your hair down and boogie woogie!!

[bbcentral]

Syd-Blues said:

I'm very happy for you, but some of those artists, aren't......blues.......

Absolutely right, there's a whole lot of them I won't be going to see. It's possible they just want to boost their ticket sales, doesn't worry me though, still plenty I'm excited about!

I bought a VIP ticket for the whole 5 days, I get to go to the private lounge with it's own bar in between bands

[elizabeth]

Have fun, Chris!

[Syd-Blues]

Still though, have fun! You deserve it!

[dinosaurexx]

that sounds so fun! =]

[The_Soul_Man]

You are so lucky. Have fun! ^^ Bring back pics! XD ^^

[bbcentral]

I just realised that I never posted a report on what happened at BluesFest!

Well here's the condensed version...

It rained throughout most of the event, every night I had to spend hours cleaning mud off my shoes/clothes! But luckily most of the festival was held in giant tents (I only really got soaked moving between stages).

Day 1:
Saw the Blind Boys of Alabama, Seasick Steve and Watermelon Slim & the Workers.
All 3 were great, but Seasick Steve was my personal favorite. If you haven't heard him, look him up on Youtube!

Day 2:
The Inspector Cluzo (some kind of French rock band, I think...quite good anyway). Pete Cornelius and the DeVilles were a great blues band with a fantastic sound. CW Stoneking sounded like he came out of a vintage blues record, definitely worth checking out!
Also saw Alabama 3, known as A3 in the USA. Deceptive name considering they're actually from the UK and there's about 8 of them! They're more commonly known as the band that did "Woke Up This Morning", the theme from "The Sopranos". I got the chance to meet them in the VIP tent, had a short chat with their harmonica player. I tried to shake his hand but he said he had broken his finger. I said "doesn't that make it harder to play?" and he said "Yes, it hurts like ****"

Day 3:
That 1 Guy (indescribable, look him up on Youtube!). Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, one of the main reasons I went to BluesFest. They were brilliant, one of the best groups of musicians I've ever heard! They just released an album of Cab Calloway covers, I got the whole band to sign it! While I was chilling out in the VIP tent I met some people working at the festival as volunteers, eventually I ended up drinking vodka with them at their tent. Then we went back to the festival to watch Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges, and I got completely soaked in the process!

Day 4:
Tony Joe White, Watermelon Slim, and Blues Traveler! John Popper kept throwing harps out into the audience, he blew everyone away with his soloing, it was a spectacular performance!
Afterwards I got his autograph, and I talked to him briefly about Blues Brothers 2000. I asked him what it was like working on the movie, he said it was one of the most surreal experiences of his life! I could tell he enjoyed talking about it, you could hear the pride in his voice. He talked about playing Buster's harmonica parts for the soundtrack too. I gave him my business card and shook his hand, he's a great guy! (And his band are nice too, they seem to have fun on stage!).

Day 5:
The Bamboos, an Australian soul/funk band that sounds like they should be recording for Daptone or STAX! They're a group of young guys from Melbourne, but they were so good I immediately bought all 3 of their albums. And their lead singer (Kylie Auldist) is an incredible talent too!
I saw Watermelon Slim and Blues Traveler again, then I saw Booker T Jones!
He was playing with the Drive By Truckers, and they sounded great! They played mostly music from his new album Potato Hole, and at the end of his set people in the audience were yelling out "Green Onions!!". Instead he played a different tune (I've forgotten which one, I think it was "Time is Tight"). But then he played a second encore of "Green Onions", which everyone went crazy for!

The rest of the festival I was either buying CDs/Tshirts, trying some of the huge range of food, sitting in the VIP tent with a drink, or walking between stages discovering new bands.

I ended up buying 3 t-shirts (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Blues Traveler and Seasick Steve), plus 13 CDs!

It was worth every cent, I just wish that:
1) It hadn't rained so heavily, or the festival wasn't held on such muddy ground
2) The town hadn't been so flooded with hippies!

If anyone here has ever been considering going, I highly recommend it. And the extra cost for a VIP ticket is worthwhile if you can afford it

[Petesilverfox]

GMO - What a way to go!!
GREAT MUSIC OVERDOSE.

[bbcentral]

I'm very tempted to go again next year. We'll see what happens, but it's still the best way for me to get a good live music fix. We don't get too many good international acts here in my town

[Cropper Classic]

Nice job Chris, I'm glad you went and got to see Booker and BBVD.

[Petesilverfox]

What about getting a UK based Blues Fest organised...... or even BB Fest.
Nothing like that exists...not to my knowledge.
Would be great excuse for a party!

[elizabeth]

Awesome!