Blues, blues and more blues in 2019. Here’s just four of the fabulous acts booked for the Blue Mountains Music Festival held from March 15-17: 19-Twenty, Ben Waters and Derek Nash, Z-STAR and now just announced, US bluesman Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges.
19-Twenty have been busy whipping up a frenzy on the Australian festival scene. They are an electric, infectious riff and groove based blue-billy-grass-rockin'-roots band and have been performing their high-energy, sonic-party nationally, headlining sell-out shows and festivals in all states and territories.
Nominated by Jools Holland as one of his 10 favourite piano players of all time and named Europe’s #1 Boogie Woogie pianist in the 2016 Boisedale Awards, Ben Waters’ repertoire is an eclectic mix of American music from the early blues through ragtime, jazz, boogie-woogie, stride, R&B and the R&R of the 50s and 60s.
Waters will be joined on the festival weekend by renowned saxophonist, Derek Nash at BMMF. Nash has been a featured member of the Jools Holland Orchestra since 2004.
Regarded as “at the forefront of the British jazz movement”, he has been described as “one of the most versatile saxophonists in the UK today” (The Guardian).
Award-winning British-Trinidadian artist Zee Gachette is the frontwoman of psyche soul blues rock band Z-STAR, whose high octane legendary live shows have lit up stages worldwide and will be igniting BMMF stages over the weekend.
Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges joins the 2019 lineup. Born in 1963 in New Orleans and raised in Louisiana, the son of Otheneil Bridges Sr (also known as blues guitarist Hideaway Slim), at five years old Bridges was playing guitar with his father around Louisiana and hasn’t stopped since.
He has toured the US from coast to coast playing his blues, gospel and R&B recordings with The Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges Band, travelling alone to Europe, where BB King bassist, Big Joe Turner spotted him in Paris and offered him the position of guitarist and vocalist with Big Joe Turners Memphis Blues Caravan.
Pack your dancing shoes and get ready to get down. Tickets bmff.org.au.
