A blues-Americana-folk musician whose own originals hark back to old-timey music, Julian James and his band Moonshine State provide a portal to a world drenched in Southern hospitality.
His songwriting style references such biblical subject matter as love, loss and debauchery, and has seen Julian perform everywhere from Tasmanian jazz clubs to Byron Bay farmer's markets, major festivals like Gympie Music Muster and Tamworth Country Music Festival to Adelaide jam sessions.With a swag of live dates upcoming including an appearance at Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast), here Julian shares his love of whiskey with five Australian distilleries he highly rates.
"Super stoked to be returning to the beautiful Gold Coast in May for Blues On Broadbeach!
"This time around, I'll have the full Moonshine State band with me, ready to play up a storm."
1: Backwoods Distillery, Yackandandah
Having spent a lot of time in Yackandandah, I got to know the team at Backwoods. Constantly striving for a more refined whiskey, I have spent many a night drinking Backwoods and struggling to walk forwards. They also recently won best single malt whiskey in Australia (2022 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards).
2: Lark Distillery, Tasmania
The Lark Distillery kicked off the Tasmanian whiskey rush, and you can tell with the complexities of their single malts. Smooth, top-shelf whiskey! Was also one of the bottles gifted to me for my 21st birthday.3: Sullivans Cove, Tasmania
This whiskey is quite a nostalgic whiskey, because it's one of the few whiskeys I can sit down and have a wee dram with my dad (not usually a whiskey drinker).4: Starward, Victoria
I've been a massive fan of Starward whiskey ever since I attended a Scottish whiskey vs Australian whiskey tasting. The Starward blew everyone out of the water that day.5: Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Bought for me by a very good friend of mine, This Whiskey has a lot of fond memories attached to it, It was one of the first Whiskeys I drank after deciding to play music for a living, Camping around the country in my van over 8 years ago!Julian James and the Moonshine State perform three sets at Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast), which runs 18-21 May and is free to attend.
Blues On Broadbeach 2023 Line-Up
Tommy EmmanuelDon Walker
Melbourne Ska Orchestra (20th anniversary show)
Emma Donovan & The Putbacks
Chris Cheney
The Kevin Borich Express
Marcus Scott & The Bo-Keys
Tommy Mclain & C.C. Adcock
Blue Shaddy
The Turner Brown Band
The Mason Rack Band
Steph Strings
Jazzparty
Little Georgia
Albi & The Wolves
8 Ball Aitken
Julian James And The Moonshine State
Ian Collard
Frank Sultana Blues Band
Darren Jack Band
The Lecia Louise Band
Kee’ahn
Chris Finnen Band
This Way North
Mike Elrington
Heavy Wax
The Long Johns
Lightnin Jack
Aaron West’s Blues Guitar Junket
Transvaal Diamond Syndicate
BB Factory
Lily & King
Simon Kinny-Lewis
C.J.Lee
The Walters
Diamonds And The Blues
Adam Hole Band
Ben Westphal Trio
JB's Blues Breakers
Hemi
Just Be
Plus more
Julian James 2023 Tour Dates
Fri 2 Jun - Bingil Bay Cafe (FNQ)Sat 3 Jun - Ellis Beach Hotel (Cairns)
Sun 4 Jun - The Garage - Bar & Grill (FNQ)
Fri 9 Jun - Blackmountain Picnic 2023 (FNQ)
Sat 17 Jun - Mt Uncle Distillery (FNQ)
Fri 23 Jun - Silkwood Hotel (FNQ)
Mon 26 Jun - Lions Den Hotel (FNQ)
Thu 27 Jul - Winter Blues Festival (Echuca)
Fri 11 Aug - Blackmountain Unplugged (FNQ)
Sun 27 Aug - Gympie Music Muster (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 22 Sep - The GAS Old Fashioned Music Weekend (Brooweena)
Mon 2 Oct - Lions Den Hotel (FNQ)
Fri 6 Oct - Savannah In The Round (FNQ)
Fri 3 Nov - Molesworth Bluegrass & Country Music Festival (Goulburn Valley)
