For legendary blues troubadour Eric Bibb, it's a strange time to be alive.
The son of Leon Bibb – a theatre singer and activist who marched with Dr King – Eric's ideals were forged in the maelstrom of the Civil Rights movement, and to watch what is now happening in the world fills him with a sense of deep foreboding.
“I am astounded and appalled really by what's going on in America and even in the world,” Eric states.
“I find that there is a contagion of strange attitudes, and it almost feels like much of the progress that's been made in terms of people trying to understand other people and get along has been rewound. I'm just watching and praying, you know, I don't really know where it's all leading but I got a big eye on it for sure.”
With his other eye, Eric will be keenly focussed on his upcoming sojourn to Australia to headline Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast) in May, among other live commitments. “I've heard about it and I'm excited about it,” Eric says of Blues On Broadbeach, which this year also features Canned Heat, Tami Neilson, The Bamboos and heaps more.
“I've been to other bigger festivals previously like Byron Bay [Bluesfest], so I'm really curious about this one, and I haven't been to Oz in a long time so I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with my fans there.
“I've got a wonderful band and I'm just very excited about touring around. I'm looking forward to travelling to newer places; I haven't been to so many places out west – I've been to Perth but I've never been to Margaret River, and I'm going to get there this time.”
Eric's visit to Australia comes off the back of his latest album 'Global Griot' released last year, which he says is one of the most important records in a career spanning 50 years and some 40 albums.
“People seem to really get where I'm coming from,” he says of the public response to 'Global Griot', “which is important because it's a pretty serious record with some serious themes, and I'm really happy people seem to understand where I'm coming from with that record.
“I would also think of it as absolutely one of my best projects, no questions about. It seems to encapsulate who I am as an artist.”
A 'griot' is a West African historian or storyteller who maintains the cultural heritage through oral tradition. As a troubadour (traditionally a composer/ performer of Old Occitan poetry in the High Middle Ages), Eric has served much the same role of passing down stories from one generation to another.
In the core of all those stories we find the legacy that Eric hopes to leave as an artist and a human being, a legacy of humanity he has been building all his life.
“When I review what I've been involved with musically and with the ideas that I've been trying to incorporate into my songwriting, I'm pleased that I've been able to actually carry on the work of not only my parents and my family members but a whole host of people, Americans and others around the world who have been putting forth this ethical culture.
"That's what I like to call it – this endeavour to basically enlighten ourselves and others about who we really are and bring these tribal conflicts to an end, because they have plagued us for centuries and I think we deserve to live peacefully together.”
Eric Bibb headlines Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast) 17-18 May.
Eric Bibb Australia Tour 2019
Fri 10 May - Rock Rover (Fremantle)Sat 11 May - The River (Margaret River)
Mon 13 May - Brass Monkey (Sydney)
Thu 16 May - The Concourse (Sydney)
17-18 May - Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast)
Sun 19 May - Lizotte's (Newcastle)
Wed 22 May - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thu 23 May - Thornbury Theatre (Melbourne)
Fri 24 May - Fyrefly (Melbourne)
Sat 25 May - Meeniyan Town Hall
