|
In early 2009, I had the honour of being the 'Official Ambassador' at the Australian Blues Music Festival, in Goulburn NSW... It meant a chance to 'meet and greet' a lot of new folks, as well as catching up with blues friends from all around the country. Here's a little background on the festival (below) as well as a link to their offical website. Many thanks to the organizers - Jenny Falconer & Sarah Dawson, and all the staff & volunteers at the Goulburn Visitors Information Centre for a great festival!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Australian Blues Music Festival is held on the 2nd full weekend of February each year in a variety of ticketed and free venues throughout the historic CBD of Goulburn NSW. It is the National Festival of Australian Blues Music and showcases the best of emerging and established Aussie blues acts from around the country. Regular features include workshops with the artists, Youth in Blues Jam, industry meet & greet forum, buskers, markets and the end of Festival finale - All Star Pro Jam. The Festival commences with the Australian Blues Music 'Chain' Awards on Thursday night and concludes with the Die Hards' Breakfast on Monday morning. The Festival also stocks over 200 Australian blues CD titles available year round (available from the Festival website or the Goulburn Visitor Information Centre). Australian Blues Festival 2009 - Additional info! The Australian Blues Music Festival is proud to continue sponsoring a showcase of West Australian acts to appear at the Festival which in 2009 will be expanded to represent acts from the West Coast Blues Club, South West Blues Club and Albany Blues Club. The Festival also sponsors the Sydney Blues Society Performer of the Year Competition (2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008) enabling the winners to travel to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge. The Australian Blues Music Festival sponsored the inaugural Blues Association of South East Queensland Performer of the Year Competition in 2007 which brought winning band Natural Ball with Blind Dog Donnie to Goulburn to perform on a national stage. The Festival is sponsoring this competition again in 2008. The Festival, as the National Festival of Australian Blues Music has sponsored the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society's inaugural Youth in Blues Showcase providing a professional performance opportunity for 2008 winners the newly formed Crawling King Snakes. FYI: Here is the latest from the Festival Office: * Early bird Weekend Passes go on sale Monday 1st September 2008 ($90 each - for a limited time only) * The preliminary line-up of performers for 2009 is planned to be announced at the end of September * Dates for 2009 are: 12-15 February 2009. Check out the official website at www.australianbluesfestival.com.au |
