Sydney Winterfest 2017

Jul3

I was asked to cover the first Sydney Winterfest, a mini Blues Festival over three days but all acts on the same semi-outside stage. Usually I have to chase around to cover a Festival but in this one, and particularly since I was staying at the venue, I was able to reserve a table at the front of the stage and operate from there.

The first band was The New South, talented and very young. This is Harry Tompsett.

This is a guitarist from the Mescaltones, a Tex/Mex Blues Band with a flair for performance and costume changes.

The climax for Friday night was the Pat Powell Super Blues Band, playing the Muddy Waters “Hard Again” album. This is Pat Powell, formerly of England and earlier Jamaica.

There were many eminent musicians in Pat’s band. One was Clayton Doley on keyboards.

This is Beau Lloyd in the Keith Hall Band, the first band on Saturday morning.

Bill Kervin, bass player with Cristina Crofts.

Christina Crofts’ band, Christina and Bill out front, playing vibrant blues rock originals.

Christina’s drummer, Mick O’Shea.

Lizard: Matthew Charnley on the left and Roy Ruckman on drums.

Jason Dowse, bass player for Lizard.

Starting a mini-series of drummers: Roy Ruckman of Lizard.

Apparently this youngster expressed an interest in playing the drums so Peter Fricker (one of the organisers) placed him briefly on stage during an intermission.

Tony, Boyd, playing for the Simon Kinny-Lewis Band.

Simon Kinny-Lewis.

The keyboard player in the same band, whose name I do not know.

Simon Kinny-Lewis Band, playing Blues in blue light.

Emma and Gary in the kitchen.

Steve Bennett of Ghost Road, a band that has been playing for 25 years.

Stan Mobbs, playing with Chris Cain.

American guitar maestro Chris Cain, the headline act for the festival.

Dancing for Chris Cain…

The first band on Sunday was the Imogen Clark Band. This is her father, playing bass.

Jason Garwood with the Imogen Clark Band.

Imogen Clark, only 21 and highly accomplished as both a guitarist and a singer.

Lloyd Spiegel, an amazing performer of clever lyrics and stunning acoustic guitar solos.

19 Twenty was the next band, as always playing very tight with amazing energy and compelling engagement with the crowd. Kane Denelly and John Gwilliam.

Young and old up and dancing.

Kane undertaking a soaring riff, hiding drummer Syd Green.

19 Twenty dancefloor again.

Mal Eastick and Milena Barrett. Milena is English and a wonderful singer.

Maestro Australian guitarist Mal Eastick.

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There are many more images. On the Sydney Blues Festival Page . you will find links to images from the 2017 Winterfest, as well the previous festivals from 2009 . For the 2017 Winterfest there is Top 75 Images and links for each of 13 bands.

Alternatively, there is also a direct overall link to all Sydney Winterfest 2017 images in JAlbum (with overview images and images by band organised by folder).

For other images of a particular band I may have taken since 2006, see the Musicians and Bands Page, which lists links alphabetically by band.

Blues on Broadbeach 2017

Jun2

Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Queensland, May 2017.
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Briefly interrupting the stream of posts on South Georgia for a post on a Blues Festival….

I photographed a wedding for some friends and they shouted me and my partner Jools a weekend away at the Blues on Broadbeach Festival (though Jools was unable to come).

The Turner Brown Band was one of the highlights of the festival. Dom Turner has been an eminent player on the Australian Blues scene for decades and he brought Nikki Brown and the Browns back from Ohio to play with him in Australia. Friday was a day of torrential rain and they were moved inside to a small café. I was lucky to be in early and be able to get up front. Raw rollicking energy plus expert musicianship.

This is Mojo Webb, whom I hadn’t seen for many years, with the rain thundering down outside the tent.

I ducked back to the flat for some reason and this is the view from the corridor near the lift, in the pouring rain.

Fortunately we had (free) tickets to Russell Morris, who has been around since the 60s but who has reinvented himself in the last few years with a series of great albums. Almost all other gigs were cancelled from 7:30pm but we were able to relax in a huge concert hall with 2,000 other people. This is taken from a long way back.

Ezra Lee (playing with his band), still going in a pub late on Friday night.

The next morning, this is Craig Bracken and Hal Tupaea of the Flaming Mudcats, from Auckland New Zealand. A great band previously unknown to me (though I have often seen Hal playing bass for Ray Beadle).

Gloria Brown, Turner Brown Band. Different day, different venue.

Louie Shelton Bluesband. Louie, from USA but living in the Gold Coast, has played as session musician for many eminent rock bands over the years.

Tomcat Playground, from Canberra and Sydney. A very familiar band but always great.

Peta Lee, with the rhythm and blues band The Vibrolators, from Western Australia.

Kevin Borich.

The big event on Saturday night was the Are You Experienced 50th Anniversary Concert, with a succession of maestro Australian guitarists. (This and following three images). It was played from a marquee at the end of a road with a huge crowd on the road so it was difficult to get close. These images were taken at as much as 600mm equivalent and may be further cropped.

Harts.

Jimi Hocking.

The 50th Anniversary stage near the climax of the concert.

Next morning I went to have breakfast at a café with enticing music issuing forth. This is the James Street Preachers.

Shane Pacey Band.

A block away from the skyscraper zone, here is the beach and it is now a fine day.

Little Billie.

Al Britten, playing with Wards Xpress.

Wards Xpress, at the climax of a number.

Darren Jack, whom I have often seen at festivals, playing in a small crowded venue with an excellent band.

Ian Moss, the big act to provide a crescendo for Sunday.

I wasn’t official photographer so I had no need to try to cover all bands. However, this festival showed me that my Fuji equipment lags behind my Nikon equipment for this purpose, mainly for autofocus. Especially at 12,800ISO, it could take several seconds to find focus and focus was not always precise. I still got good shots but missed more than usual.

Phil Barlow of Phil Barlow and the Wolf, playing in a small bar in the dying hours of the festival.

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There are links to many more images from Broadbeach 2017 on the Other Blues Festivals page.

Alternatively, there is the direct link in JAlbum (with overview images and images by band organised by folder).

For other images of a particular band I may have taken since 2006, see the Musicians and Bands Page, which lists links alphabetically by band.

Sydney BluesCruise

Apr11

8 April 2017, Sydney Harbour.

With the next post we will resume to journey to South Georgia in the South Atlantic. First, though, we will have a brief interlude with the BluesCruise on Sydney Harbour that we attended last weekend at the invitation of organiser Tony Cini.

We drove down from Canberra, stayed the night at Cremorne on the north side of the harbour and caught a ferry in the morning to Circular Quay, in the city near the Opera House. From there we walked but got confused by another Pier #6 on the way and nearly missed the ferry (thanks to Jools for working it out!).

This is the first band, the PJ O’Brien band.

We were sailing around the harbour for four hours so there was plenty of thime to observe sights on the way. This is a curious boat-launching dock on the side of a Navy ship, maybe a destroyer. The seats in it are also curiously high.

Sydney Harbour Bridge of course in the background.

Some of the more interesting sights are always the older, somewhat more derelict-looking ones.

Finger food was plentiful and gratefully appreciated.

Michelle van der Meer’s band is now playing. She is looking up to the people around the opening on the upper deck.

Some people who live at the side of the harbour do not appear to be impoverished.

An outpost of an exclusive Catholic private school.

Nearby boatshed, yacht and canoes.

There were many yachts on the water, many with children in them.

Here there is a launch with parents mixed in with the yachts with children.

Enough wind to fill a spinnaker.

And then some were in the water rather than on it.

The third and final band – Tony Cini backed by PJ O’Brien’s band.

Some colourful workshops.

And now we are heading back to the Darling Harbour wharf.

Back on the dance floor…

…and back with the band…

… as the audience appreciates the last numbers….

For those that might want to see more images, there is a JAlbum slideshow here with 17 more, including a few before and after the cruise.

Thredbo Blues Festival 2017

Feb17

Thredbo Blues Festival 2017 took place over three days and nights on a weekend at the end of January. Here is a selection of images, and links at the bottom to more….

Colour

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Kate Lush

Jeff Lang

Bobby Singh

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Kevin Borich
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Rick Melick, Rick Melick Band
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Syd Green, 19 Twenty
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Kane Denelly, 19 Twenty
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John Gwilliam, 19 Twenty
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Arc Riders
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Aidan Glover and Harry Tompsett, The New South
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Charlie Wooton, James Southwell Band

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James Southwell Band

Monochrome

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Steve Edmonds, Steve Edmonds Band
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John Howell, Chase the Sun (and Arc Riders)
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Dogg’n It
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Glynn Dowding, The Stars
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Pete Cornelius
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Chris Gilbert, playing with Kevin Borich
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19 Twenty
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Hat Fitz
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Cara Robinson
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Owen Campbell Band

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Shane Pacey, Foreday Riders
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Jeff Doukakis, Steve Edmonds Band
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Jon Carson, playing with Kevin Borich
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Dylan Harding, James Southwell Band
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19 Twenty
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James Southwell and Kate de Araugo, James Southwell Band
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There are many more images. On the Thredbo Blues Festival Page . you will find links to images from the 2016 Festival, as well the previous seven festivals . Links for 2013 include top 100 images, selected monochromes and one for each of the 20 bands. These include other bands not mentioned above including Blackwood Jack, Geneveive Chadwick, Jonno Zilber, Jules Boult & the Redeemers, Lisa Ohlback Band and Tangled Weed.

Alternatively, there is also a direct overall link to all Thredbo 2017 images in JAlbum (with overview images and images by band organised by folder). There are 493 images in all.

For other images of a particular band I may have taken since 2006, see the Musicians and Bands Page.

Blues Piano Night

Dec3

Here is another live music post, this time in Canberra. I was asked to photograph the Blues Piano Night last Friday. Two pianos, four excellent piano players, both solos and combined performances.

Alison Penney

Wayne Kelly, or at least his hands

There were two sets and Tim Hulsman filled in during the break.

Tim Hulsman.

Leo Joseph.

John Black.

Wayne Kelly.

You should have an idea of who is who by now.

Not sure what was going on here…

And all together, near the finale.

Sydney Blues and Roots Festival 2016

Nov26

I had missed this Festival the previous two years due to being overseas but this year I was able to cover it. It is held in Windsor, an old town now part of Sydney, and this year it was out of the main part of town and in a very compact location. There was a particularly fine array of bands, the lighting was much improved on previous Festivals. Here are some of the images…

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Urban Chiefs

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Tomcat Playground

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Claude Hay

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Jimmy Bee, Cyril B Bunter Band

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Lesz Karski, The Hippos

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Kane Denelly and John Gwilliam, 19 Twenty

Australia, Blues, Blues Festivals, Live Music, Photography, Sydney, Sydney Blues Festival, Travel

Christina Crofts

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Michelle Van Der Meer, Michelle Van Der Meer’s Midnight Ramblers

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Robert Susz, Continental Robert’s Soul Kinda Feeling Revue

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Phil Manning

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Marshall O’Kell

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Glen Cardier, Glen Cardier and the Sideshow

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Jeremy Edwards, Glen Cardier and the Sideshow

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Mal Eastick, The Stars

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Bob Gammage, The Stars

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Chris Cain

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James Southwell Band

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Tanya Bethune, Sugar Bowl Hokum

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Lyn Hinds, Bounty Hunters

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David Hinds, Bounty Hunters

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Mitch Anderson, Harry Brus Band with Mitchell Anderson

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Mario Millo

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Greg Hatton and Christopher Wilson, Psycho Zydecho

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Elizabeth Anne Stocco, Gail Page Band

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Zoltan John Budai, Gail Page Band

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Chris Wilson, Manning Wilson Southwell Band

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Mark Kennedy, Manning Wilson Southwell Band

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Gail Page, Manning Wilson Southwell Band

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Rebecca Davey, Dreamboogie

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Diesel

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There are many more images. On the Sydney Blues Festival Page you will find links to images from the 2016 Festival, as well the previous festivals from 2009 . For 2016 there is Top 100 Images and links for each of 39 bands.

Alternatively, there is also a direct overall link to all Sydney 2016 images in JAlbum (with overview images and images by band organised by folder).

For other images of a particular band I may have taken since 2006, see the Musicians and Bands Page, which lists links alphabetically by band.