The 4th annual Cairns Blues Festival became one big party as crowds flocked to Fogarty Park on Saturday May 12 for the 11-hour marathon of back-to-back live blues music. With 16 artists on the bill this year, it was the biggest year artist-wise for the local festival, which saw about 150 applications from musicians around the world interested in performing on the bill.

This year’s program included US blues legend Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges, Aussie blues rock man Jimi Hocking and incredible blues guitarist Ray Beadle, alongside a host of other local performers. The 2012 event kicked off at 11am with Junior Bowles sparking things off in great style from the Pacific Music Stage. Despite a bit of early drizzle, crowds weren’t discouraged and as the day cleared, the crowds travelled between the two stages to catch their favourite acts.  Local acts included Roz Pappalardo & The Wayward Gentlemen, Flamin’ Canetoads and Johno’s Blues Band.  There were also unforgettable performances by US artists Thomasina Winslow and now Australian-based Bo Jenkins, and a return showcase by Jesse Deane-Freeman who was on the line-up of the inaugural festival.

Touring bands like Blue Heat and Dukesy & The Hazzards, both from Victoria, brought in the evening with some rollicking blues, paving the way for the high energy performance by the soulful Andrea Marr Band, and an incredible rockin’ set by Ray Beadle that saw crowds beg for an encore. Jimi Hocking’s Blues Machine wrapped up the music from the Pacific Music Stage with his fast-paced electric blues and the enigmatic and legendary Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges finished up the night on the Sound Shell Stage, showing audiences why he has blues in his blood.

The enthusiasm from the artists was evident from the high energy performances on stage and the crowd, which was up on 2011 festival numbers, soaked up the music in near perfect weather conditions. Cairns Blues Festival artist programmer Dan Vowles said while final ticket numbers were yet to be confirmed, he believed the numbers were up on previous years. “I was particularly impressed with the early roll-up,” he said. “There were a couple of hundred people here for the first act, it kicked off the day well. The crowds were really getting involved, everyone was really impressed with the quality of the music. We’re starting to get more interest and tickets are being purchased online from interstate and overseas.”

Cairns Blues Festival committee president Pauline Langley said it is evident the festival will just continue to grow. “It was a fantastic day,” she said. “There was a great cross-section of ages. It does show a certain amount of maturity for a city if a festival like this succeeds. It stretches the cultural tourism of the city. This year’s festival has been like a massive reunion, not just for the punters but also for the artists.”

With the massive number of artist applications received, Dan said it was a tough process to pick the 2012 line-up. He said the festival was starting to earn a solid reputation amongst blues players. “We are getting great feedback from the artists on the set-up of the festival,” he said. “They are often quite surprised that it is a volunteer run event, and mention how professional it is. We’re not chasing headline acts anymore, artists really do want to come here to play. They also understand that we’re [Cairns Blues Festival] a not-for-profit committee and want to support us.”

The festival would be unable to operate without the support of its sponsors and funding bodies – Cairns Regional Council and Events Queensland Regional Development Program. The committee is continually grateful for the support provided by the local community.

They’re already looking forward to next year’s event, which is scheduled for the second weekend in May – official dates to be confirmed shortly.  The Cairns Blues Festival can only go from strength-to-strength and will continue to bring the best of the blues to the far north.


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