![[Dr. John]](drjohn5.jpg)
![[Ben Harper]](harper4.jpg)
![[Various artists - Animation]](bluesanim.gif)
How will they top the line-up of 1999??? It seems nearly
impossible, but I'm sure it will be accomplished, in this Australian festival, for the year 2000.
This type of music appeals to everyone of all ages, which is what seems to make it successful in Australia. People travel from all around the country, and the World, just to see one of the best line-ups in blues and roots put together. Nothing compares to seeing these amazing artists live, and that's what people come to see. A CD doesn't compare to the atmosphere and energy created, under the hot, muddy big tops, through this powerful live music. Most of the artists here are best seen live, and seeing them like that, in their true form, is the opportunity of a lifetime.
It's not only the general public that is there to see this amazing event, but you often find the artists themselves wondering around taking in the festival from a different perspective, other than that of the stage. Ben Harper was even wandering around the main streets in Byron Bay, being inundated by people and signing autographs for them. Then there was the incident, at the festival itself, where I embarrassed myself when saying hi to 'The Whitlams' front man Tim Freedman. I won't go into the details of that one!
It may have been rainy, muddy and slightly smelly on the outside of the big tops, but once underneath that umbrella of thick plastic, we were transfixed by the vibe of the rhythm and blues forced into us. The Festival staff did a fantastic job in trying to control the conditions under our feet, as they worked overnight to try and cover the 3-inch deep, endless pool of mud. A festival just isn't the same without bad weather, as when you think about it, most successful festivals have had it. As the local newspaper put it "Rain, mud, crowds, but who cares?" Then again...it is always nice to be able to walk around without being worried about whether my shoes will be filled with thick mud for the rest of the night.
Rain, hail or shine I won't be missing The East Coast Blues and Roots Music Festival next year.
As the crowds grow bigger and bigger you start to realise that this
![[Guitar Shorty animation]](guitaranim.gif)
festival isn't going to get any smaller. The whole overall feeling of the festival is easy going, which
sparks a vibe that the music being created here is special...which it is. It's almost a history lesson, as we
see the likes of original Mississippi Delta blues artists, through to the rock 'n' roll, then to the modern
day variety. Over time the rock 'n' roll torch has been handed down from generation to generation, and
it's now so easy to forget that at one time rock 'n' roll didn't even exist, when it has such a powerful
presence now. Music generated today and in the last 40 or 50 years has developed as a result of the
music created on the Mississippi Delta. A lot of the black rock 'n' roll musicians of the 50's, such as
Little Richard and Fats Domino, were influenced by all the old rhythm and blues. Back in the 1950's,
radio helped brake down the segregation and the barriers in the music industry, as R&B was beginning
to be played on black radio stations. White youth were drawn to the radio stations that played the
black R&B music, and eventually, it is claimed DJ, Allen Freed, started calling R&B rock 'n' roll, a
term in the South that was slang for sex.
Blues has been around forever, but up until the 1950's was only in the black communities. Now, though, R&B has spread throughout the world, and even into the hearts of small town's, such as Byron Bay, in Australia. Hopefully recognition of this powerful and influential music will continue to be played, and grow, forever.
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