Like his hero, Mississippi Delta King Robert Johnson, Aaron Pollock is a musician at the crossroads of his career, but far from ‘sinking down’ he is rapidly on the way up.

Starting out at 15 and settling on a right handed guitar, Aaron quickly realised that being a musician ‘was exactly what I wanted to do’. Since then he has worked tirelessly to become the overnight sensation he has this year. Firstly, by winning the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society Challenge and as a result, off to represent Victoria at the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in the USA earlier this year.

Aaron literally took Memphis by storm and finished eighth in the world from over two hundred quality global Blues performers. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, he has quickly established himself as one of the pre-eminent Australian Blues and Roots artists of recent times.

Aaron shared with us, ‘Being in Memphis and performing at the IBC was one of the most exciting and exhausting times of my life. I hopped off an eighteen-hour flight from Australia – and the next thing – I am performing in huge theatres to massive audiences. I think the heats and semi-finals winners were announced at 3am; and then it was straight off to the final, which made it all a bit surreal.’

Superb guitar skills, vocal mastery and outstanding song writing are amplified by his affability, modesty and charm. ‘My latest Album – Separated Through Time, was written, recorded and mastered completely in COVID 19 Isolation’, he said. ‘When lockdown began I knew I had to make some moves and I decided to put together 12 unfinished songs on a new album. The goal wasn’t to prove I was a blues guitarist and singer but a serious songwriter as well’.

Aaron finds inspiration through the mundane as well as the profound. ‘I pick up the guitar and play a few chords or a couple of riffs and the song will come straight at me like a flame that burns so fast you have to catch it while it’s there’. He says there are times when the song seems to write itself and can be caught in a single take.

Aaron is a generous musician that has not only worked out how to prosper in a difficult business but has the rare gift of being able to explain this to others starting out.

‘If someone tells you to do something do the opposite. It is a total lack of cooperation that creates the best artworks. Protect your vision and your sound, wear it with the utmost confidence and once you convince yourself it’s worth listening to others will agree’.

Aaron Pollock is releasing his fourth full album ‘Separated Through Time’ on 20 June 2020 with singles ‘Fear of Flying’ and ‘Damn’ along with others available prior to release. You can find out more about Aaron.

Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival is delighted to present Aaron Pollock on a live stream broadcast from the famous Bendigo Blues Tram on 13 June 2020 with local accomplished musician Mariah McCarthy. Both artists are debuting and you can tune in live here for Mariah at 2:00pm and here for Aaron at 3:15pm.

We interviewed Aaron asking him 5 questions and you can view his responses here.