World renowned bluesman and two-time Grammy Award nominee, Eric Bibb will make a welcome return to the Blue Mountains Music Festival (BMMF) in March 2023.
Bibb will bring his band with him - Christer Lyssarides on guitar, Paul Robinson on drums and Glen Scott on bass.
Grounded in the folk/blues tradition with contemporary sensibilities, Bibb's music continues to reflect his thoughts on current world events, whilst remaining entertaining, uplifting and inspirational. An Eric Bibb show promises to be a remarkable experience. As Blues Brother actor, Dan Aykroyd famously declared to the American born singer: "You are what the blues in the new century should be about".
Joining Bibb from the US will be Eilen Jewell and Steve Poltz.
Jewell has been described by American Songwriter as, "one of America's most intriguing, creative and idiosyncratic voices". Jewell and her band blend influences of surf-noir, early blues, classic country, folk, and early 1960s era rock 'n' roll.
Nashville native and festival favourite, the legendary Steve Poltz, makes a much longed for return to Katoomba in March. Known to bring an audience from laughter to tears and back again in a single song, Poltz last swept BMMF audiences to their feet in 2018 and fans have been requesting his return ever since.
From the UK comes traditional folk artist and former Bellowhead member, Jon Boden, and the undisputed queens of British folk, While and Matthews.
Joining the line-up from Ireland is the critically acclaimed songwriter Niamh Regan, whose 2022 debut album Hemet earned nominations for both the RTE Folk Awards and the Choice Awards for album of the year. From Scotland comes the much celebrated singer songwriter, Siobhan Miller and her band. Miller is the only ever three-time winner of the Scots Singer of the Year Award at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.
The first of many local artists to be announced are multi-award winning duos Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, and Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham (The Waifs). Williams and Ghouse have firmly established themselves as contemporary artists that capture audience hearts and imaginations by connecting deeply with rare Noongar language through the power of song. 2021 saw the release of their fourth album Koort recorded live at the Perth Festival as well as works for the Perth International Cabaret Festival and the West Australian Opera.
2021 was also a big year for Urquhart and Cunningham who recorded their first album The Song Club which entered the ARIA Country Charts at #1 and was nominated for four Golden Guitars and an ARIA and won the AIR Award for Best Independent Country Album.
More artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Early bird tickets are on sale now until sold out at https://bmff.org.au/. The Blue Mountains Music Festival will be held on March 17, 18 and 19.
