Final note for Blues Fest

THE final bow has been taken for the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival.

More than 140 artists performed throughout more than 40 different venues, with the tunes starting on Thursday last week and ending on Sunday.

The 2022 festival marked the final instance of the 10-year-old grassroots event, and director Colin Thompson said it’s “a huge relief” to have seen it to completion.

“With the help of an extremely determined crew, we got there and now we can look back on the last ten festivals over 12 years with a great deal of pride and gratitude,” he said.

“Judging by all the smiling faces over the weekend, of patrons, venue operators, crew and artists, I’d say it was a smashing success.

“I think it’s up there with some of our best attended festival events. Around 20,000, maybe more.

“It’s all been about reengaging audiences and venues in the grassroots music scene and providing work and social enrichment to the community as a whole. It feels very much like we’ve achieved that.”

Performer Peter Gavin has been taking part in the festival for nearly all of its lifespan.

His gigs included a set with Alawishus Jones & The Outright Lies at Yard Bird, and a Bendigo Club performance with The Magic Eight Balls.

He played Prohibition-era covers as part of the folk duo Jaydebird at Hargreaves Mall on Friday afternoon, and said it was an enjoyable set.

“The gig was a lot of fun. It was easy to get everyone to join in and clap and smile. They’re obviously looking for a good time and we’ve got just the weekend for them,” he said.

“The highlight for me was introducing Rohan, the 10-year-old on the harmonica, to play What a Wonderful World, who did a fabulous job.

“When there’s something like this in the town, the younger people especially get to see what the standard is for a live gig. They think I have to step up that far, and they do.”