Good morning, Easter Monday and hello Day Five of Bluesfest (18 April).
Punter numbers seem to have reduced but not their enthusiasm and the music is still very much alive! My day five is planned as a chill day with less racing between stages and hopefully, no more tears. Ha!I am back at the Delta Stage for RocKwiz Live – this time I'm staying longer with Brian Nankervis and making certain I get my fix of the quick-witted Julia Zemiro who has entered stage in a moon boot due to a fractured ankle.
This did not stop her from moving about on stage at all and I love her smart banter with the crowd. I watch Grace Cummings, Vika and Linda Bull and Brian Cadd perform as part of the show and they are marvellous and the crowd love them all.
I can tell you that Cadd's performance brought a tear to the eye. His voice is just amazing and had not changed one bit.
RocKwiz - image © Clea-marie Thorne
I leave the Delta to grab my later morning coffee and taking a less hectic pace, I stop by Juzzie Smith, the one-man band on the Jambalaya stage with my late morning cup of manners. I do not know his songs, as this is another discovery for me, and oh what talent!
Glenn Shorrock is opening his set with Little River Band song 'It's A Long Way There'. Oh wow, Brian Cadd is joining him onstage for the AXIOM hit 'Little Ray Of Sunshine’ – and I thought I would have no more tears. What a beautiful song.
My mates were, along with other punters, super excited when he included the Little River Band hits 'Reminiscing' and closing with 'Help Is On its Way'.
For, me I needed to get a little more groove in and checked out The Bamboos who filled the stage! Their funky rhythms gave me a good dose of the groove I was in search for.
The Bamboos - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Now I'm off to Mark Seymour and The Undertow. Seymour covered a selection of hits from Hunters & Collectors that included 'Throw Your Arms Around Me', 'Do You See What I See' and 'Holy Grail', and treated punters to an overview of his solo work and work with the Undertow.
You don't get a lot more Aussie than John Williamson. Showing us that he's sure true blue, he told us he would be donating his festival earnings to the flood recovery efforts and the crowd cheers in appreciation.
Williamson gave the fans the sing-alongs that they came for. You betchya.
John Williamson - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Cory Henry gave the curious and longstanding fans in the hefty crowd 'Switch' and 'Trade It All' – all bodies were grooving along to his jazz stylings.
Cory was mostly hidden behind his double keyboard setup and was focussed on the beats and rhythm only looking up occasionally as he kept the momentum going.
Kate Ceberano is another cherished artist that gave the crowd before her a career-spanning set that included the well-known song 'Brave'. There appeared to be many punters who were enjoying Kate's pop-soul set and were singing along to her hits.
Cory Henry - image © Clea-marie Thorne
In saving the best for last, The Teskey Brothers get to cast the final spell on the Mojo stage.
It's a spell that binds you to their music and the key ingredients are the sounds of Josh Teskey's alluring and soulful powerhouse vocals and Sam Teskey's guitar when he's making its six strings sing. I've said it before, if you can make a guitar sing I'm a fan for life.
The Bamboos' Kylie Auldist gets invited on stage for an Archie Roach cover and you can tell she's super excited to be performing with them.
I skip across for a little bit of Pete Murray before coming back in time for the Teskey's encore to end the night with friends on a euphoric high of hand clapping and foot stomping to the pared back and raw gospel like sounds of 'Hold Me'.
The Teskey Brothers - image © Clea-marie Thorne
I forfeit the choice to experience the magical jazz-funky realms that Hiatus Kaiyote are taking their fans to down at the Juke Joint or to get my blues boogie on with the revered Chain who are giving punters a final instalment of blues on the Jambalaya stage as I am feeling full to the brim with live music after a music marathon provided by some of the best performers in Australia and a handful of beloved international artists.
This year the music ranged from blues to classic rock, funk, soul and reggae and even hip hop and I think the choices were well received considering the crowds that were seen at the stages.
Bluesfest 2022 has been a huge weekend. Five days full of joy by many hands and big hearts to make the magic happen. Artists collaborated here and there with guest appearances on stages and some even helping out when Brothers Pierce and sister of The Waifs had to play without their siblings.
View the day five photo gallery.
The healing and joy that Bluesfest 2022 delivered was needed. The live music shared by some of Australia's greatest artists and handful of international acts triumphed in elevating moods with a large serve of dopamine and boosted morale and uniting the kindred spirits of locals and visitors from afar at a time when disaster events and COVID-19 have wreaked havoc in our communities and our country.
Bring on Bluesfest #34!
