Bluesfest Touring is proud to send the Bluesfest vibe on the road across Australia next April. The 2019 tour will capture some of the highlights of the festival for those who are not able to make the trip to Byron Bay this Easter. Bringing blues, roots and the myriad of genres from the infamous Bluesfest festival to cities across Australia for 2019 are:
Ray LaMontagne
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (Final Australian Tour)
Nahko And Medicine For The People
Arlo Guthrie | I’m With Her | Keb’Mo’
Trevor Hall | Vintage Trouble | Larkin Poe
The California Honeydrops
Bluesfest Touring is proud to present Bluesfest first-timer and Grammy winner, Ray LaMontagne to Australia this April. The singer-songwriter who is making his long-awaited return Down Under after a 10-year hiatus will perform with John Stirratt, the bass player and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band, Wilco. The pair will treat Melbourne and Sydney audiences to an intimate show, captivating crowds with a soft, delicate voice that can be as powerful as an instrument.
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic will be ensuring that all Aussie fans have one last chance to see the founding father of Funk perform live in Australia this April as he plays both a Melbourne and Sydney for his Funk-a-thon farewell. The man often referred to as a ‘musical genius’ retires in May 2019. He is sure to ‘Tear The Roof Off’’ with his Funk-melodies which still have a major influence and inspiration for today’s Hip-Hop and RnB artists. Recording both as Parliament and Funkadelic, George Clinton revolutionised R&B during the ‘70s, twisting soul music into Funk by adding influences from several late 1960s acid heroes such as Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Sly Stone.
Portland, Oregon based musical collective Nahko And Medicine For The People are making their way to Australian soil for three headline shows ahead of the festival slot at Bluesfest 2019. Best known for their realistic lyrics and influential messaging through catchy melodies, Nahko And Medicine For The People primary goal is to bridge cultural gaps and unify diversity with their music. Nahko Bear and his Medicine for the People are known for their high energy, powerful performances of conscious tribal anthems, often raising the roof of the Bluesfest tent and soon to do the same in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
By popular demand, Arlo Guthrie is bringing the Alice’s Restaurant tour to Australia this year. With a distinguished and varied career spanning almost sixty years, the American folk singer-songwriter will play four shows, one in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide along with his performance at the 30th Anniversary of Byron Bay Bluesfest next Easter. Guthrie is best known for singing songs of protest against social injustice and storytelling through song. Guthrie’s humorous persona and his musical mixture of folk, rock, country, blues and gospel styles in songs almost equally divided between his own originals and well-chosen cover tunes are sure to entertain audiences across Australia.
Multi-Grammy Award winners I’m With Her are Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, who between them have released nine solo efforts, co-founded two seminal bands and released their debut album See You Around earlier this year. The threesome who have individually made their names in the male-dominated field of American Roots-and-Country music will be performing live in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of their performance at the 30th Bluesfest next April.
Four-time Grammy winner and Blues influenced talent Keb’ Mo’ will be taking his musical force that defies typical genre labels to Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle next April. Over the past two decades, Keb’ has cultivated a reputation as a modern master of American Roots music through the understated excellence of his live and studio performances. The list of his artist collaborations compromises a who’s who in the music industry and includes Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jackson Browne, Natalie Cole and Marcus Miller.
After winning over heaps of Aussie fans at his Bluesfest debut in 2017, Trevor Hall is returning down under to play shows in both Sydney and Melbourne ahead of his performance at the 30th Anniversary of the festival. The Roots and Reggae artist from South Carolina realized at a young age that music was more than just a passion. Hall is renowned for his emotionally moving and inspiring live shows which have a clear linear pattern of storytelling, particularly noting sentiments of love.
Vintage Trouble is making a much-anticipated return to Australian shores in 2019. The self-branded” Trouble-Makers” have built an immense, fervent fan base with their brand of live-wired straight-shootin’, dirty-mouth’d, pelvis-pushing juke music – don’t miss out as they take Australia by storm again in 2019.
Rebecca & Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe, the American Blues-Rock band will be performing their gritty, soulful, southern heritage in Melbourne and Sydney this April. Originally from Atlanta, the now Nashville based sister duo are poised to make a mark all their own with the release of their fourth album Venom & Faith which is out this November 9, 2018. According to Rebecca Lovell “It’s a celebration of American roots music as translated by two sisters who are playing the blues in a modern age”.
Bluesfest favourites, The California Honeydrops are taking their rootsy Bay Area, hotbed of Soul, Blues, Funk and R&B energy to Melbourne and Sydney this April. The troupe have put out six albums during the past decade and two alone in 2015 but released Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2 in May 2018, celebrating their 10th year together. The Honeydrops have come a long way since guitarist and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland subway stations, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel sure to get you dancing during the Easter break!
Ray LaMontagne
Wed 24th April 2019, State Theatre Sydney
Sat 27th April 2019, Palais Theatre Melbourne
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
Sat 20th April 2019, Enmore Theatre Sydney
Thu 25th April 2019, The Forum Melbourne
Nahko And Medicine For The People
Wed 17th April 2019, The Triffid Brisbane
Sat 20th April 2019, Metro Theatre Sydney
Sun 21st April 2019, 170 Russell Melbourne
Arlo Guthrie
Wed 17th April 2019, City Recital Hall Sydney
Mon 22nd April 2019, Theatre Centre Canberra
Tue 23rd April 2019, Recital Centre Melbourne
Wed 24th April 2019, The Gov Adelaide (9.30am local time for pre-sale and on-sale)
I’m With Her
Tue 16th April 2019, City Recital Hall Sydney
Thu 18th April 2019, Recital Centre Melbourne
Keb Mo’
Sat 13th April 2019, Tanks Arts Centre Cairns
Mon 15th April 2019, Recital Centre Melbourne
Tue 16th April 2019, Factory Theatre Sydney
Wed 17th April 2019, Lizotte’s Newcastle (Pre-sale by phone only)
Trevor Hall
Wed 17th April 2019, The Oxford Art Factory Sydney
Thu 18th April 2019, The Corner Melbourne
Vintage Trouble
Wed 24th April 2019, Oxford Art Factory Sydney
Thu 25th April 2019, The Corner Melbourne.
Larkin Poe
Mon 22nd April 2019, Oxford Art Factory Sydney
Wed 24th April 2019, The Howler Melbourne
The California Honeydrops
Wed 24th April 2019, The Corner Melbourne
Thu 25th April 2019, Oxford Art Factory Sydney