Bluesfest Byron Bay, the multi award winning 5 Day Festival, held annually over the Easter Long weekend just north of Byron Bay (EVENT DATES: Thu 2nd to Mon 6th of April, 2015) has released its first round of artists of what is going to be a series of sensational headlining announcements to be rolled out in the lead up to the 2015 Festival.
Announcement #1 features a beautifully selected choice of artists ranging from International heavyweights, National treasures to returning favourites plus some exceptional artists who will be making their Bluesfest debut in 2015.
The 26th Annual Bluesfest is now truly on its way!
THE BLACK KEYS
ZAC BROWN BAND
ALABAMA SHAKES
TRAIN
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC
PAUL KELLY
PRESENTS THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS
FEAT. DAN SULTAN, KIRA PURU, & VIKA AND LINDA BULL
XAVIER RUDD
AND THE UNITED NATIONS
TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE
REBELUTION• SOJA
THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD• BETH HART
FRANK TURNER AND THE SLEEPING SOULS
MARIACHI EL BRONX • G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE
POKEY LAFARGE • BAND OF SKULLS
ROCKWIZ LIVE
and many more to come!
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR PETER NOBLE SAYS:
We never have anything less than great announcements at Bluesfest – I think this time around we are making one of our best so far – as the Festival Director I am thrilled to be announcing The Black Keys, the Zac Brown Band & the Alabama Shakes as the very first headliners, as well as a stellar group of artists that make up this first announcement.
In 2015 it will be 9 years since The Black Keys have performed at Bluesfest and 6 years since Dan Auerbach performed solo, back then you could see them in your ’Local’ when they toured. Now, they have had one of the most defining recordings of the decade in El Camino (2011), a platinum selling album which brought them superstar status and made The Black Keys become one of the major bands in music today, selling out arenas all over the world and headlining festivals. Since 2011 they have won 7 Grammy Awards alone.
The new albumTurn Bluewas released April 14. It debuted at number one in the US and Australia Album Charts, the band’s first record to top the album charts in either country.
Rest assured: Dan Auerbach’s voice and guitar prowess added to Patrick Carney’s unique talent on the drums lays the foundation for an unforgettable Friday night headline slot at Bluesfest 2015.
If you came to Bluesfest in 2013 you will remember the genius of the Zac Brown Band. They are the fifth highest concert grossing band in the US right now grossing over $1.1M nightly. Only Cher, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Paul McCartney are in front of them. (Source: Pollstar Magazine 29th of August 2014). They have a staggering 6.5M+ Facebook members and have won 4 Grammy Awards so far.
What I admire about this truly great American band is that they have never tried to fit any kind of popular mould. They entertain their audience with a great mix of Country, Bluegrass, Rock and even some Metal and it’s difficult to name just one highlight during their performance, as there are so many. No doubt that the Zac Brown Band will take Bluesfest by storm once again in 2015!
We are getting excited now because it’s a Bluesfest first for the Alabama Shakes but they certainly left their mark when they last came to Australia in 2013. We have tried so hard to get them back and guess what – we have – for 2 Bluesfest plays. Their fans will be rejoicing – and they will leave our shores with many thousands more who will agree – the Shakes are destined for greatness. They have a great story – so check ’em out. This band is on fire.
Paul Kelly is coming with his Merri Soul Sessions featuring Dan Sultan, Kira Puru & Vika & Linda Bull – every one of these great artists are Bluesfest favourites. To have them all performing on stage together in concert is going to be orgasmic – or at the least – stupefyingly brilliant.
But there’s more – another Bluesfest favourite –Xavier Rudd will be debuting his brand new band – The United Nations. Featuring musicians from all over the world – including musicians from Indigenous Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa and more performing his new album.
George Clinton is a legend – no he is much more – he is a bedrock artist – a true originator who stands equally beside James Brown, Sly Stone and no one else as the creators of Funk music. His famous statement of the music he created – ‘get on the one’ meaning get on the first beat – not the second – made funk music what it is today. There is no Funk music without George Clinton – it’s that simple – and it’s the funky truth.
Ok, ok. We have all heard the stories about the Mothership Connection – and all those crazy funky cartoon characters who comprise Parliament/Funkadelic – all 22 of them on stage. Well get ready – here they come with their funky motto – ‘free your ass – and your mind will follow’. George and the gang will be performing their full show at Bluesfest – which can go for up to 3 hours.
There are some great festival artists in the world…..for mine none greater than Michael Franti & Spearhead…when Franti – calls ‘How Ya Feelin’ to the audience – you know that true magic is about to happen – and the church of Franti will uplift the house to a spiritual release that is palpable. A Michael Franti & Spearhead concert is spiritual – it’s physical – it’s about life and loving life – it’s such a wonderful experience. We welcome Michael Franti and Spearhead back to Bluesfest for his second show in 2 years simply because – you can’t get enough of the best.
Beth Hart played Bluesfest 2014 – people are still talking about those shows. She is just one of the best live artists performing anywhere today and it is an honour to have her return to Bluesfest 2015.Simply unmissable.
Every artist in this announcement is just super cool baby – The Chris Robinson Brotherhood arethe kings of Blues Rock.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are arguably New Orleans finest music export today. The last few years they have been selected to close the main stage on the final day of New Orleans Jazzfest, taking over from the Neville Brothers. This will be their 4th appearance at Bluesfest and they are back by popular demand.
SOJA, an American Reggae Dub band and Rebelution, a Reggae Rock World Roots bandare the leaders in the US Reggae music movement of today. Between them they have an amazing 4.5M Facebook followers. SOJA is currently # 1 on the Billboard Reggae Charts this week andRebelution is #3.
G. Love & Special Sauce, Frank Turner& The Sleeping Souls, Band of Skulls, Pokey La Farge and the amazing Mariachi El Bronx round out the musical part of this incredible announcement.
The cherry on the icing on this amazing Bluesberry cake is the return of RocKwiz featuring Julia, Brian, Dugald and all the team – plus very special guests for our listening, comedic and intellectual pleasure. You can even get to be a contestant – and maybe see yourself on television.
WHAT AN ANNOUNCEMENT!
As the great Otis Redding said –“you think we gonna stop now – we ain’t gonna stop now”
This is only the first of many Bluesfest announcements to come. We are creating a churning whirl of burning funk for ya listening and dancing pleasure.
Enjoy
Peter Noble, Bluesfest Festival Director
ARTIST BIOS:
THE BLACK KEYS
They last played Bluesfest in 2006 and we are thrilled to announce The Black Keys are returning to Australia off the back of their successful 8th full-length album Turn Blue.
The tour celebrates the duo’s success with Turn Blue, which debuted on both the Billboard 200 and ARIA Charts at Number 1 and is the band’s highest charting album to date internationally. The album debuted in Top 5 and Top 10 charts worldwide with the first single ‘Fever’ sitting at the top of radio lists. Their latest single ‘Gotta Get Away’ can currently be heard on the airwaves.
The album was produced by Danger Mouse and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Turn Blue follows the critically and commercially acclaimed album El Camino which is now certified double platinum in Australia. El Camino spawned the huge hits ‘Lonely Boy’ and ‘Gold On The Ceiling’ and also saw the band take home three Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.
The home of Bluesfest is going to come alive when the The Black Keys – one of the world’s hottest rock bands – take the stage next Easter.
www.theblackkeys.com
ZAC BROWN BAND
Remember the genius of the Zac Brown Band in 2013. They came to Bluesfest and set the tent on fire with their unique musical mix of Country, Rock, Bluegrass, Metal and even some Reggae. We were following the rest of the world as the band has since grown to become the fifth highest-grossing artist in the US right now.
Three-time Grammy winners and one of music’s most heralded acts, the Zac Brown Band’s three platinum-selling albums, Uncaged, You Get What You Give, and The Foundation have together sold over six million copies and produced a historic series of eleven #1 hit singles. Since 2009, the band has garnered more than 50 combined Grammy, ACM, AMA, CMA, and CMT award nominations.
Zac Brown Band’s latest album, The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1, is out now on Southern Ground and features a 45-minute film by Southern Reel on the making of the album. Producer Dave Grohl said in a Rolling Stone interview: “They’re unbelievable; we didn’t fuck with computers, we tracked live, four-part harmonies around one microphone……. it’s fucking great.”
Pure musical genius … Zac Brown Band returns to Bluesfest next Easter – expect Fireworks!!!
www.zacbrownband.com
ALABAMA SHAKES
We welcome the mighty Alabama Shakes for their Bluesfest debut in 2015. The quartet formed in 2009 in Athens Alabama, and has been going strong ever since. The Alabama Shakes were named best band of 2011 by NPR, while MTV called them one of the top bands to look for in 2012 and they received three nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards, one of them for their debut album Boys & Girls.
From the heart-rending title song ‘Hold On’ to such stomps as ‘Rise to the Sun’ the debut album demonstrates the sense of groove and space the band learned from their idols. Although the release of Boys & Girls marks the arrival of a major new Rock and Roll band, to the members themselves, what’s been most exciting has been the reaction they have felt on stage.
In 2015 the time has come for this band described as ‘thunderbolt dressed in blue jeans’ to rock out at Bluesfest and draw in the audience with their magnetic stage presence and music that’s aching when it’s slow and growling and whooping when it’s fast.
We are thrilled to share the love with Alabama Shakes and can’t wait to hear their raw, rootsy, and honest Rock and Roll for the first time at Bluesfest.
www.alabamashakes.com
TRAIN
“Imagine, if you can, some 2600-ish people all dancing like no one was watching…there was something so truly joyful about it that all you could do was smile.” The Music on Train’s 2012 Sydney Opera House Performance
Perennial hit makers and three-time Grammy Award winners Train will be making their Bluesfest debut next Easter! The colossal group has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, 30 million tracks worldwide with numerous Platinum and Gold citations on their mantle, 3 Grammy Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards and dozens of other honors and nominations.
You will be familiar with their hits such as the Grammy winning ‘Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)’ and ‘Hey Soul Sister’, Train’s most recent album, 2012’s CALIFORNIA 37 featured the hit ‘Drive By’ among other songs, a Triple Platinum single in Australia that reached the Top Ten in 13 countries. For their debut Bluesfest performance Train will have new material, they premiered their new single ‘Angel in Blue Jeans’ in July this year from their latest album Bulletproof Picasso set to be released in September.
All aboard, when Train bring their riveting, roots-based pop to Bluesfest for the very first time!
savemesanfrancisco.com
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
Without doubt one of the most popular Bluesfest performers is Michael Franti– and we are stoked that he is returning to Bluesfest in 2015. We won’t get the pleasure of celebrating his birthday with him this year, but rest assured we will be getting very special Michael Franti& Spearhead performances.
There’ll be favourites old and new such as ‘Say Hey (I love You)’, ‘I’m Alive’, ‘Everyone Deserves Music’, ‘The Sound of Sunshine’, ’Hey Hey Hey’, and ‘I’ll Be Waiting’ plus a few Michael Franti surprises as well.
Bluesfesters – you know only too well how the founder of the Do It For Love Foundation brings pleasure to many by gifting people who are living with advanced stages of life-threatening illnesses live concert and ‘meet & greet’ experiences … don’t miss another series of uplifting, soulful experiences courtesy of Michael Franti & Spearhead at Bluesfest next Easter.
http://michaelfranti.com/
GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC
The legendary George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, one of the most important innovators of funk music alongside James Brown, Sly Stone and the Funky Meters, brings the ‘awe-funk-some’ P-Funk Collective back to Bluesfest after a 4 year hiatus!! All 22 of them – for another funkadelightful groovathon next Easter!!
Known globally for his outlandish costume and his multi-coloured dreadlocks as well as his mastery of intergalactic funk – the P-Funk Collective will be looking to “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker” with their groove as they, for sure, turn us Bluesfesters into “Maggot Brains”.
Dr. George Clinton is one of the most sampled musicians on the planet (or off it !!!) and has worked alongside Tupac, Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dog, Outkast, Wu Tang Clan, Carlos Santana, Redman and so many others as collaborator or producer….
George Clinton has been releasing albums steadily since 1967 under his own name as well as both that of Parliament and Funkadelic. His stable of hits includes ‘Atomic Dog’, ‘One Nation Under a Groove’, ‘We Want the Funk’, ‘Flashlight’ and ‘Mothership Connection’ – and his collective was finally recognized when 16 of the P-Funk Collective (the largest group ever) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
In addition to the classic songs, Clinton continues to release new material, including Toys with Funkadelic in 2008 and the cover album George Clinton and His Gangers of Love in 2006, including his take on songs like ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up ’and ‘Gypsy Woman’.He is currently compiling new and old songs for an exclusive online-only release, fighting for artist rights through the P-Funk Initiative, and blogging about these issues on his website. FunkProbosci.com
georgeclinton.com
PAUL KELLY presents the Merri Soul Sessions -featuring Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, & Vika and Linda Bull
Singer, poet, songwriter and national treasure – Paul Kelly is returning to the Bluesfest stage to showcase his brand new collaboration-based release The Merri Soul Sessions. Live, this very special soul-review will feature performances with some of the incredible guest vocalists from the album including Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and Vika & Linda Bull. (Check out the recording footage here: http://youtu.be/mme6FnU2wSY)
Through continual reinvention, 19 studio albums (plus several live releases & film scores) and countless accolades Paul Kelly has carved out his enduring place in the Australian psyche, his stories are synonymous with our landscape, history and lifestyle.
Songwriters and poets everywhere have paid tribute to his rich, tapestry-like catalogue of songs that have become the soundtrack to our lives, like ‘How to Make Gravy’, ‘From St Kilda to King’s Cross’, ‘To Her Door’, ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, ‘Everythings Turning To White’ – and countless others. It seems fitting for the new chapter in this influential career to include collaborations with the next generation of incredible Australian musicians.
www.paulkelly.com.au
XAVIER RUDD AND THE UNITED NATIONS
Emerging from the studio after recording his dream project – the long awaited ‘Dub Sessions’ which is currently untitled-Xavier Rudd returns with a full band: The United Nations.
Featuring bass, drums, keys, horns, flute, guitar, backing vocalists, percussion and representing musicians from many cultures including Australia / indigenous Australia, South Africa, Samoa, Germany, Ireland & Papua New Guinea, Xavier Rudd & the United Nations will hit the stage at Bluesfest 2015 for their Byron Bay debut.
Xavier Rudd & The United Nations are a celebration of a “One People Musical Force” with a strong message of all people coming together around the globe to return to spirit, respect the ancient ways and protect the earth and the very essence of creation.
This return marks the 9th Bluesfest performance for Xavier Rudd and we can’t wait to welcome him back. www.xavierrudd.com
TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are one of Bluesfest’s finest discoveries. Since their 2011 roof-raising debut, they’ve made Bluesfest their spiritual home, returning in 2012 and 2013 – each time raising our tent roof a little higher than the year before.
New Orleans native Trombone Shorty is the bandleader and front man of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a hard-edged funk band that employs hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. He began his career as a bandleader at the tender age of six, and toured internationally for the first time at age 12 before joining Lenny Kravitz’s horn section at the age of 19 for a 105-date world tour in 2005-2006.
“…a genius player…he plays his ass off, and he’s a beautiful human being”. – Lenny Kravitz
His three albums, “Say That To Say This,” the Grammy-nominated “Backatown,” and “For True,” has seen his career shoot to the stars.
Make sure you are in the tent to welcome him home to Bluesfest – with another two years of constant touring under his belt, TS&OA’s return to Bluesfest signals the start of a stonking, funking party time!!
www.tromboneshorty.com
REBELUTION
California’s Rebelution will be bringing their chilled Reggae beats to the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm for the bands very first Australian performance at Bluesfest.
Beginning as Reggae enthusiasts in the college town of Santa Barbara, Rebelution quickly grew to the success story they have become, playing over 100 shows a year around the world, owning the stage at major festivals and selling out renowned venues such as Red Rocks and the Santa Barbara Bowl. The most impressive part is that they have achieved all of this without backing from any major label or media push.
Rebelution’s latest album Count Me In (2014) debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #14 and marked the band’s third consecutive #1 Reggae Album. Despite all the accolades, it is all about the music for the band as guitarist/singer Eric Rachmany explains; “Rebelution is a great example of four friends who got together to play music for the fun of it, and still do that today. We just play music that we really enjoy.”
We can’t wait for the jam sessions, laid-back grooves and good vibes at Bluesfest next Easter.
www.rebelutionmusic.com
SOJA
In time for Bluesfest, SOJA will be releasing their fifth studio album featuring the single‘I Believe’co-written by and featuring Michael Franti. Over the course of the past few years, the band has sold more than 200,000 albums, including their critically acclaimed 2012 album, Strength To Survive (ATO Records), which made an impassioned call for unity and change with universally relatable songs about faith, hope and love. Non-stop touring, headlining and selling out large theatres in more than 20 countries around the world, sharing stages with everyone from Dave Matthews Band to Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, has helped generate over 60 million YouTube views, 3 million Facebook fans, and an almost Grateful Dead-like international fan base that grows with each tour, with caravans of diehards following them from city to city. Most impressive of all, SOJA has accomplished all this on their own.
www.sojamusic.com
THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD
The former Black Crowes front man Chris Robinson formed The Chris Robinson Brotherhood in 2011. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood will be bringing their own brand of Blues Rock and Roll, full with grooves, psychedelia and killer vocals.
Their third album and most recent release, Phosphorescent Harvest, has been described by the band as a new set of sounds unseen to lean on ceilings, a music of the spheres not content to just envelope rafters. Rolling Stone Magazine described the first song released from the album as “boasts a vintage rock vibe that’s at once quirky, trippy, soulful and downright magnetic.” US Rolling Stone
Although Chris has been to Bluesfest before with The Black Crowes, this will be the debut of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood bringing their loose and soulful sounds to the festival.
Bring on the trippy, the talented, the mighty, the one and only Chris Robinson Brotherhood! www.chrisrobinsonbrotherhood.com
BETH HART
“THE talk of the festival on opening night was Power House vocalist Beth Hart” – Gold Coast Bulletin on Beth Hart at Bluesfest 2014
After her mind blowing performances at Bluesfest’s 25th Anniversary we had to have power house Beth Hart back. First there’s THAT voice; Beth Hart turns the art of singing into an out-of-body experience – she is simply world class. Then there are her A-list collaborations with the likes of Jeff Beck, Slash, Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa.
Beth has ridden incredible highs and heart-breaking lows in the past, but these days she’s reaching new career heights including her nomination for a Blues Music Award in the category: Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist in 2014 and a Grammy nomination with Joe Bonamassa in 2014 for their album Seesaw, which went number 1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart, as did their most recent release Live In Amsterdam.
Her most recent album Bang Bang Boom Boom was released the month before her debut Bluesfest performance in 2014 and reached number 3 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. Beth is currently working on a new solo album which is set to be released early 2015, so expect to hear some new material when we welcome back Beth Hart to Bluesfest with open arms next Easter.
www.bethhart.com
FRANK TURNER AND THE SLEEPING SOULS
Two years ago Frank Turnermade his first appearance at Bluesfest. His tent was packed out with adoring fans and intrigued passers-by. By the end, his anthemic songs like ‘I Still Believe’, ‘If Ever I Stray’, ‘Wessex Boy’, ‘Sailors Boots’, ‘Peggy Sang The Blues’, ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ had converted them all … and Frank Turner had won yet another new audience.
This time … make no mistake … his tent will be overflowing with his fervent fans, eager to lend voice to his bulging songbook of catchy folk/country/punk songs. Frank Turner has been a solo artist for nearly a decade, but the former voice of post-hardcore band Million Dead has seen his career charted in a firmly upward curve, thanks to his five best-selling albums and raucous anthemic singles. With a recent sold-out arena tour and prestigious main stage slots at Leeds & Reading Festivals under his belt, it is clear … Frank Turner’s star is still set firmly on an upward course!!
There’s only one chance to catch Frank Turner at Bluesfest in 2015 – do not miss him!!
www.frank-turner.com
MARIACHI EL BRONX
Punk Rock and Mariachi will join forces when the one and only Mariachi El Bronx make their Bluesfest debut next Easter.
To give you a little insight into the history of this band you need to know of The Bronx – a LA born Punk/hard-core band that formed in 2002 and received early success including a dedicated Australian fan base. When The Bronx were requested to perform acoustically on a television show the group decided rather than taming their own sound they would wear sombreros and take their music in a whole new direction. This led to the beginning of their alter ego: Mariachi El Bronx.
From playing sweaty punk dives to booking dates with the likes of The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters and The Killers and touring with Gogol Bordello, members of both bands have an incredible variety to their art. The Mariachi style didn’t completely come out of the blue as front man Matt Caughthran says; “…Growing up in Mexican neighbourhoods, it feels automatic” and “My two favourite bands were always Black Flag and Los Lobos, so it all makes sense.” The band claim their culture clash follows in a grand Punk tradition, namely The Pogues who merge traditional music of their Irish backgrounds with punk abandon and The Clash who melded raw garage guitars with Brixton Reggae Riddims.
You need to see this band live to appreciate the true magic of Mariachi El Bronx, for a taste LISTEN HERE. We are counting down the days to see those charro suits at Bluesfest.
www.mariachielbronx.com
G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE
For their 5th trip from Philadelphia USA to grace the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm with their eclectic mix of laid back Blues, Hip Hop and R&B; G. Love & Special Sauce are making their triumphant return! 20 years after the release of their self-titled debut album and 8 years since their last live performance together, the original line up of G. Love & Special Sauce arrive on the back of their 2014 album Sugar breathing new life into their groove-heavy, Chicago-Blues infused brand of stripped down Rock and Roll. With the influences of Elmore James, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker and Lou Reed, the band has stripped themselves back to the old-school air of their first record with a mature and developed instrumentation without losing any of the unique, funky American Blues vibes that were the foundation the bands success.
Not to be missed, G. Love & Special Sauce has developed their sound into a laid back, rhythmic and soulful nature.
http://philadelphonic.com/
POKEY LAFARGE
Suit up people, it’s time to throw yourselves back into the American age of early Jazz bars, String Ragtime, Country Blues and Western Swing- Pokey Lafarge and his band have crafted a fresh genre all their own. Hailing from the heart of America and based in Missouri, Pokey’sMidwestern appeal and surefire charisma never fail to charm audiences, giving way to a live music experience that manages to be flamboyant and unassuming all at once.
Pokey Lafarge narrates shouts and croons above the incredible harmonica, upright bass, saxophone and trumpets of his gifted band. Having played alongside the likes of Jack White, Old Crow Medicine Show, Wanda Jackson, The Raconteurs and Carolina Chocolate Drops, in addition to appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and the Boardwalk Empire soundtrack, Pokey Lafarge has already created himself a master reputation among his esteemed peers as well as a string of distinguished awards including two consecutive Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Album for Riverboat Soul and Middle of Everywhere.
Don’t miss this stellar opportunity to relive and revive traditional Americana music!
www.pokeylafarge.net
BAND OF SKULLS
Southampton Rock heavyweights Band of Skulls’ full-throttle live shows have earnt them a reputation amongst Australian audiences as one of the most accomplished, exciting live bands around. Their trademark raucous Blues riffs combined with faultless raw vocal harmonies has coined this English trio’s distinct sound.
Their third album Himalaya was released earlier this year and its layered, fleshed out sound has received rave reviews here in Australia and overseas; “so deliciously evocative, it’s like taking a hike to The Joshua Tree”. NME
It has a confidence that reflects a band who have honed & refined their own sound through relentless touring and playing to audiences of artists like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Live, this tight polished band packs an immediate and inimitable punch.
ROCKWIZ LIVE
‘Expect the Unexpected’ – RocKwiz returns for three more Bluesfest Spectaculars!!
RocKwiz Live at Bluesfest 2015 will of course feature dynamic host Julia Zemiro, adjudicator Brian Nankervis, human scoreboard and roadie Dugald and the supremely talented RocKwiz Orkestra, made up of James Black, Mark Ferrie, Peter Luscombe and backing vocalists Linda & Vika Bull.
RocKwiz Live will once again be shooting their season opening program at Bluesfest. Here’s another fantastic opportunity for all Bluesfest fans to see themselves as well as their favourite artists on television. The RocKwiz Live shows are bigger, bolder, longer, louder and a little looser than the television programs and the team revels in the unique atmosphere at Bluesfest.
Previous RocKwiz Live shows at Byron have featured an exciting mix of local and international artists performing with the RocKwiz Orkestra, collaborating with other festival guests, answering questions and rubbing shoulders with contestants … who are drawn from the audience before the show. Yes, it could be you!
Visiting performers like Irma Thomas, Michael Franti, Ruthie Foster, Allen Stone, Grace Potter and Trombone Shorty along with local heroes like Tex Perkins, Henry Wagons, Megan Washington, Ross Wilson, Marcia Hines and Tim Rogers have all been part of RocKwiz Live at previous Bluesfests, rocking the packed Jambalaya Tent and providing unexpected highlights for delighted crowds.
Who will it be this year … only one way to find out!! ‘Expect the unexpected’ – a Kwiz-tacular of music, quiz, chat and comedy when RocKwiz plays Bluesfest on Friday 3rd April, Saturday 4th April and Sunday 5th April.
www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz
Bluesfest playing schedule is available on www.bluesfest.com.au.
All Festival and Camping tickets are on sale through www.bluesfest.com.au or by phoning the office on 02 6685 8310.
Tickets are also available through Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au and Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com.au.
