There’s a lot to be excited about on the music scene locally (as always in Bendigo) but here are some highlights for fans of blues, jazz, soul, folk and funk, put together by the volunteer team at Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival and a handful of their valued partner venues:
There’s a lot to be excited about on the music scene locally (as always in Bendigo) but here are some highlights for fans of blues, jazz, soul, folk and funk, put together by the volunteer team at Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival and a handful of their valued partner venues:
June kicks off big, with Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers’ 25-year anniversary Show on Friday 7 June at the All Seasons Hotel. Tickets are only $20 and bookings can be made directly through the All Seasons on 03 5443 8166. That same weekend (on Saturday 8 June) two intimate gigs are being staged in two very different spaces: The Blues Tram featuring John McNamara (Ballarat) with Jess Parker & The Troubled Waters (Melbourne) from 2pm till 4:30pm; and from 7pm Bendigo ex-pat Aaron Wales will return to The Old Church on the hill to play the opening set for Andrea Robertson & Band (Ocean Grove), who are launching their new Album “Live at New Hall”.
Soulful NSW singer/songwriter Kelly Brouhaha is also playing the Bendigo leg of her album launch tour at The Old Church, supported by talented young locals Luke Harrington and Steph Bitter. This one will be an uplifting evening for music lovers and doors open at 7pm on Saturday 15 June, with a door charge of only $15.
In early July the always amazing Nardia Brancatisano will visit Bendigo, with her talent-packed band in tow, to perform as one of the headline acts of BB&RMF’s Winter Showacse/Fundraiser at the Hotel Shamrock on Sunday 7 July. On the Saturday evening of that same weekend, Nardia will play a warm-up show at Bendigo’s newest dedicated live music venue Entree Music Bar. Entry is free and fans of jazz, blues and funk should definitely get in for a sneak preview of one of Victoria’s best young blues divas and her top-class accompanists.
The BB&RMF crew’s Winter Showcase at the Shamrock will feature more than 16 acts performing across 3 stages, from 11:30am till 8pm on Sunday 7 July. Yard Bird Kitchen & Bar (on the Balcony of the historic hotel) will feature solo acts, duos and trios, while bands perform on stage in the Federation Room. The day will also feature a ‘Busking and Street Jam Stage’, hosted and run by funky local duo Honk Tank. In addition to Nardia and Honk Tank, the list of artists performing across the three stages at the Hotel Shamrock on 7 July also includes: Electric Blues Collective (Melbourne); 40 Thieves (Croydon); Orange Whip (Ararat); Slap Back Jack & The Magic 8-Balls; Daniel Aaron; Jarrod Shaw (Melbourne); Sarah Wilkinson; The Flannos; Spiritus (Gembrook); Rhyley McGrath; JadeByrd; Funk Junkies; Andy Garlilck; Deus Sax; and the already accomplished Bendigo South East College Stage Band!
Organisers suggest you should expect a “New Orleansy vibe” upon arrival at the Shamrock on July 7th, especially with the music spilling out onto the street. With an entry fee of only $20 for over 8 hours of entertainment from some of Victoria’s best Blues & Roots artists, it’ll clearly be money well spent; and you’ll be supporting Central Victoria’s biggest home-grown music festival, providing opportunities to artists, sharing great music with the community at large, through our generous local venues, both big and small, throughout the year – not just on the second weekend of November.
Colin Thompson, Founder/Director Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival
