The first Official Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows have been announced, and while the full lineup for the 25th Silver Anniversary Edition of the annual award-winning festival is still being revealed, a batch of accompanying headline tours have been revealed.
Austrlian tours have already been announced for Bluesfest 2014 headliners Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer, but Bluesfest Touring has locked in an impressive series of sideshow announcements, including a double-bill of sweet singer Aaron Nevill with voodoo music master Dr John & The Nite Trippers, American storyteller Steve Earle and his band The Dukes in concerts with the first lady of Aussie country music Kasey Chambers, as well as concerts from KC and the Sunshine Band, Allen Stone, and Jimmie Vaughan.
Read on for all the artist info, tickets, dates, and venue details on the first official Bluesfest 2014 sideshows.
Aaron Neville And Dr John & The Nite Trippers Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows
Aaron Neville is no stranger to Australian audiences; he has performed here with the Neville Brothers in 1997 and The Blind Boys of Alabama in 2011 as well as performing at the Byron Bay Bluesfest. His voice has been described as ‘the sweetest voice in music’ and after five decades of constant recording success solo, in collaborations, and with The Neville Brothers, he has received 15 Grammy nominations in 11 categories winning one with his Neville Brothers, one with Trisha Yearwood and winning two Grammys with Linda Ronstadt. In Australia, he’ll draw from his catalogue of hits including ‘I Don’t Know Much’, ‘Hercules’, ‘All Of My Life’ and more.
Joining Neville for his Bluesfest sideshows is Dr. John. Armed with his Grammy Award-winning 2012 album, Locked Down, the six time Grammy-winning good voodoo music master doctor will be hitting towns with his illustrious Nite Trippers. Once an in-demand session musician, playing on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin and The Rolling Stones’ infamous Exile On Main St. to name a few, Dr John’s legend was born with his breakthrough 1968 album Gris-gris, which established his unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots.
MON 21 APRIL 2014 – Hamer Hall, Melbourne,
Tickets: artscentremelbourne.com.au 1300 182 183 – On Sale 21st October, 10am
THUR 24 APRIL 2014 – State Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au 136 100 – On Sale 22nd October, 10am
SAT 26 APRIL 2014 – Riverside Theatre, Perth
Tickets: ticketek.com.au 132 849 – On Sale 21st October, 10am
Steve Earle & The Dukes With Kasey Chambers Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows
Singer-songwriter, actor, author, political activist, producer – Steve Earle is one of America’s greatest living storytellers. His tales, encapsulated in songs such as ‘The Galway Girl’, ‘Hard-Core Troubadour’, ‘Jerusalem’, and his anthemic ‘Copperhead Road’, have filled 14 albums and earned him three Grammy awards. Two years ago he came to Bluesfest solo, nailed it and sold-out his sideshows to boot.
Now he’s back …and this time he’s bringing The Dukes along for the ride. He’s showcasing his 15th studio album, The Low Highway – a road record written about what he experienced from the window of his tour bus while travelling across the United States. Backed by a new lineup of The Dukes (& Duchess) featuring The Mastersons (Chris Masterson on guitars and wife Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle and vocals), Kelly Looney on bass and Will Rigby on drums, Steve Earle rolls through a bumper taster from this new album and his bulging back catalogue.
Special guest on this tour is Kasey Chambers, the undisputed First Lady of Australian alternative country music, who has had a lustrous career achieving many ‘firsts’, inlcuding headlining (with Steve Earle) the revered Austin City Limits, the first time a non-American act had done the show in its 26-year history, and more recently has been nominated and performed at the prestigious Americana Music Awards.
A true home-grown star, Kasey Chambers has scooped up a regular swag of APRA and ARIA awards to go with her seven Golden Guitars at the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth. Her albums have that timeless appeal: Barricades & Brickwalls (2002), Wayward Angel (2004), Carnival (2006), Rattlin’ Bones (2008) all made it to Number 1 in the charts: her later albums Little Bird (2010), Storybook (2011) and Wreck & Ruin (2012) showcase a diverse spread of the musical style that underpins Chambers’ career
TUE 15 APRIL 2014 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au 1300 111 011 – On sale 22nd October, 10am
WED 16 APRIL 2014 – Tanks, Cairns QLD
Tickets: ticketlink.com.au 1300 855 835
(STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES WITH SPECIAL GUEST TBC)
WED 23 APRIL 2014 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: ticketek.com.au 132 849 – On sale 21st October, 10am
THUR 24 APRIL 2014 – The Forum, Melbourne
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au 1300 111 011 – On Sale 22nd October, 10am
KC And The Sunshine Band Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows
With a huge catalogue of stone cold dance anthems, including ‘Get Down Tonight, ‘That’s The Way (I Like It), and ‘Shake Your Booty’, KC & The Sunshine Band are still as widely popular today as they were when they first danced into the music scene 40 years ago. Harry Wayne Casey – KC for short – started working in the music business at age 17, performing menial tasks around the T.K. Records/Studio complex in his hometown of Miami. The Sunshine Band originated in 1973, at which time he began writing songs with bassist Richard Finch and developing those award-winning grooves based in a unique fusion of R&B and funk, with a hint of a Latin percussion groove.
The Grammy-award winning band have earned over 100 million records and been covered and sampled by a whole generation of artists including White Zombie, Baha Men, Beyonce, R. Kelly, Snoop Dogg, Ultra Nate and many, mnay more. Peter Noble, Bluesfest Touring director said, “this is a band who came from the era where people bought records and KC and the Sunshine Band have over 100 million record sales to prove it.” he added “this puts them at the same level of sales as Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, The Who and Stevie Wonder and three times more than Pearl Jam.”
THUR 17 APRIL 2014 -Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: ticketek.com.au 132 849 – On sale 21st October, 10am
FRI 18 APRIL 2014 – The Palace, Melbourne
Tickets: bluesfesttouring.com.au 02 6685 8310 – On sale 22nd October, 10am
SAT 19 APRIL 2014 – Tivoli, Brisbane
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au 1300 111 011 – On sale 22nd October, 10am
Allen Stone Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows
After making such a huge impression on his first – sold out – Australian Tour, Allen Stone is back and ready to captivate once again. At 26 years old, he hypnotized the entire crowd with his heartfelt lyrics and social morals – get set to be blown away by the extra-ordinary raw soulful talent of Allen Stone. Drawing comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Donny Hathaway and Bill Withers, Stone will be bringing a new album with him, his debut album was the self-released Last To Speak (2010) he was then signed to ATO records who re-released his second, self-titled album (2012).
Allen Stone is the son of a preacher man, and like many soul singers, he got his start in church. Surrounded by gospel music, Allen didn’t discover soul music until he was a teenager and started collecting classic albums from the 60’s and 70’s. Allen Stone says of the genre; “Soul music from that time wasn’t just about bumpin’ and grindin’ at the club- it was a huge part of a cultural movement. That’s where my inspiration comes from.” Tickets are expected to sell out fast. Don’t miss out on this chance to see Allen Stone – a true soul performer.
SAT 12 APRIL 2014 – The Corner, Melbourne
SUN 13 APRIL 2014 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
WED 16 APRIL 2014 – The Zoo, Brisbane
Tickets: bluesfesttouring.com.au 02 6685 8310 – On Sale 21st October, 10am
Jimmie Vaughan with Nikki Hill Bluesfest 2014 Sideshows
Providing a vital link between contemporary music and the blues’ proud heritage, Jimmie Vaughan is far more than just one of the greatest and most respected guitarists in the world. Since releasing his first solo album in 1994 he has set the standard for quality modern roots music. His musical ethos and personal style have had an impact on contemporary culture from spearheading the current blues revival with The Fabulous Thunderbirds to his longtime innate fashion sense of slicked backed hair and sharp vintage clothes. The older brother of legendary “Texas Blues” guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan comes from good stock and, with a genuine love of and finesse with the guitar, plays some of the best God-damn Blues on the planet.
Vaughan’s special guest on this run of Bluesfest Sideshows is roots rock’n’roll powerhouse Nikki Hill. Drawing from vintage female rhythm and blues influences such as LaVern Baker, Etta James and Ruth Brown, as well as some of her favourite male singers Otis Redding and Solomon Burke, Hill’s tough vocal style fits with contemporary sensibilities yet evokes all the great blues shouters of previous decades. Nikki and her band deliver a high energy show and take all the flavours of American roots music to deliver a sound that reminds us all why we love rock n’ roll.
WED 16 APRIL 2014 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
THUR 17 APRIL 2014 – The Corner, Melbourne
Tickets: bluesfesttouring.com.au 02 6685 8310 – On Sale 21st October, 10am
Bluesfest 2014 Dates & Tickets
25th Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest
Thursday 17th – Monday 21st April, 2014
All Single Day, Camping, Festival tickets are on sale now through www.bluesfest.com.au and Bluefest office on 02 6685 8310
Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster on www.ticketmaster.com.au
Bluesfest playing schedule is available on www.bluesfest.com.au
