Blues fest to bring the best

ORGANISERS are set to bring the guitar-laden sounds of past-century roots music to the region once again with the return of the Ballarat Blues Festival.

Boasting a main act concert as well as other performances, the event will see the best blues smiths of Ballarat and abroad showcasing classic and original tunes to the community.

Organiser, John McNamara, who’ll also perform as part of the The McNaMarr Project, said the festival is about showcasing blues and roots music to the region.

“We have a lot of locals involved as well as interstate performers,” he said. “It’s the cream of the Aussie blues scene and they’re real showcase sets, each performer gets to show what they can do.

“Being a performer myself, my vision for Ballarat is to have this be a type of festival that I would like to go and see.

“We’ve got clubs and pubs but putting blues on that big theatre stage was really important to me too.

“With the main event we try to give a bit of bang for everyone’s buck and the reports we had last year was it was the best value ticket they ever bought which was lovely feedback.”

The Ballarat Blues Festival program will run from Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 August, with the main multi-act event will again taking place at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts, on the second day from 2.30pm.

The lineup will include Nathan Cavaleri, The Voice Australia winner Karise Eden, Paula Maki, The McNaMarr Project, Geoff Achison, The Screaming Jets’ Jimi Hocking, Kathleen Halloran Trio, and others.

Following the main concert, an after-party gig will take place at 7pm at Piano Bar with Rod Paine and The Fulltime Lovers, as well as local band Jawn performing.

A Women in Blues showcase will take place from 1pm on the Saturday, also at Piano Bar, while other concerts, the majority of which are free, will also be held at Hop Temple, Aunty Jacks, and RJM’s Wine Bar across the weekend.

McNamara said this year’s program is expanding on their sophomore effort last year which marked a revival of the festival after a four-year hiatus.

“It’s bringing some of the magic from 2023 and tuning it up even that little bit more to bring more excitement and just going that little bit bigger each time,” he said.

“I’m excited to have Piano Bar on for this year as it’ll be their first time being part of Blues Fest.

“The hope is to keep building it and to have more acts and venues onboard and to keep growing it each year. I think this is something truly unique in the Australian blues scene.”

For tickets and showtimes, visit the festival’s website.