Sound Republic: Festival Reviews

West Coast Blues roundup

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By Tania Otte
14 April 2007

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West Coast Blues and Roots Festival

This years South West Blues N’ Roots festival was an awesome event. Featuring momentous acts, superior organization and localized to Western Australia, the roadshow filled the Fremantle Reserve with a pure joy.

Seemingly the most obvious reason to head to the festival was the line-up, but the venue also was just right. The Reserve is across from the harbour where the perfect sea breeze blows in and for the majority of the festival the sun shone.

Southwest blues and roots reflected a side of the music scene that is not often seen in the mainstream WA music media. A weekend at the blues fest delivers you a healthy dose of some of the most versatile performers out.With the weekend kicking off with Tim Winton in the big top he certainly managed to get the good vibes flowing, even if you weren’t too familiar with his tunes. Artists who preformed over the weekend without a doubt lived up to all expectations. A stand-out performance for many of the festival goers came from the popular young Texas lad Ben Kweller, with his charming pop songs about life and love.

Another outstanding act hailed from the homegrown Western Australia boys the John Butler Trio. With the release of their new album “Grand National” the crowd eagerly anticipated their performance and it was everything you expected and more. The sun was setting and we were all in for a treat with Xavier Rudd on the harbour side stage. Xavier never ceases to amaze with his musical abilities and Blue King Brown also had us bouncing to some soulful beats. With the layout of the festival been very practical it was easy to move freely from stage to stage while enjoying the shade and lush green grass. The food was a delight with great variety. Carnavon bananas, veggie wraps, fruit salads and curries.

With Ben Harper securing the headlining spot he closed the festival with his sublime mix of tunes. He definitely was a standout festival performer. With a new album coming out soon, fans will be on the edge of their seats waiting for that one. Overall the West Coast Blues n Roots Festival was incredible. I love music.

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