Following last year’s epic 25th Anniversary celebrations, Western Australia’s beloved springtime musical adventure, Blues At Bridgetown, returns for 2018 with a weekend’s worth of good times and great sounds to ease your soul and mind from Friday-Sunday, November 9-11.
First cab off the rank for 2018’s unveiling is The Black Sorrows featuring Vika & Linda. Helmed by Australian music legend of 50 years and counting, Joe Camilleri, his ARIA Award-winning band will be reunited with the incredible vocal team of Vika & Linda Bull. Expect multi-platinum hits such as Hold On To Me, Harley & Rose and The Chosen Ones, plus memories both old and in-the-making.
The Turner Brown Band (USA) features Backsliders’ guitarist Dom Turner teaming with Ohioan electric lap steel/vocal phenomenon Nikki D. Brown. What you get is a series of slide guitar infused, gospel-soul, funk- blues tunes that demonstrate the kind of magic that happens when two like-minded slide guitar tone freaks get together in one place. Nikki’s sister Gloria (rhythm guitar/vocals), and cousin Tomika (drums/vocals) share the same deep musical heritage and love of infectious gospel-soul funk- blues music, a sound that has its melodic roots in the Sacred Steel guitar tradition.
Watching a YouTube video of Rufus Wainwright singing Hallelujah with a choir of 1,000 people set the collaboration that is Mama Kin Spender in motion. “It was a lightbulb moment,” Danielle Caruana (Mama Kin) recalls. “‘Let’s create a body of work as a duo with a really vocal component to it and then let’s pick up choirs and perform with them as we go around the country!’.” And so it is that Caruana and Tommy Spender will perform with Margaret River’s Chorale Choir for a Bridgetown experience not to be missed.
Hat Fitz & Cara are currently winging their way through a Canadian and European tour, in support of their latest album, After The Rain, produced by Govinda Doyle (Angus & Julia Stone). They’ve knocked Bridgetown’s socks off in the past with their unique, vintage sound and dynamic live show and we are absolutely in no doubt that they will do so again. Prepare ye the way.
Hailing from New Zealand, Swamp Thing’s energetic live performances are renown for inspiring concert goers to dance and have fun, engaging their audience at all times as they showcase a wealth of musical experience. Michael Barker and Grant Haua’s songwriting, arranging and production ventures into swamp pop, dirty blues jams, hoedowns and Americana, delivering sounds grooving deep into roots music.
Associating and cavorting with the aforementioned will be Juzzie Smith, The Streamliners, Shane Pacey Trio, Emily Barker, Shaun Kirk, Ten Cent Shooters, Moondog, Little Quirks,
Tom Fisher & The Layabouts, Matty T Wall, Applejack & Moonshine, Amanda Emblem and Big Town Players, with many more to be announced, playing at the iconic Blue Owl’s Nest, Festival Club and Geegelup venues.
Tickets are now on sale through bluesatbridgetown.com.au/festival-tickets, including a great value Weekend Ticket & Camping package and Weekend Festival Tickets for Early Bird buyers.
Blues At Bridgetown is a non-profit community association producing an annual music festival since 1993. Held in the second week of November each year, the three-day festival showcases blues and roots music, attracting visitors from across the state, interstate and overseas.
