Zydeco is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles such as la la and juré, using the French accordion and a creole washboard instrument called the frottoir.
Stanley Dural Jr., better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band, but they often performed as merely Buckwheat Zydeco.
The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl, Harry James Angus, Will Hull-Brown (drums), Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala, Ollie McGill and Ryan Monro. Monro retired from the band in March 2021, while Angus, Hull-Brown and Khadiwhala all left in April 2022. They are often supplemented by The Empire Horns, a brass duo composed of Ross Irwin (trumpet) and Kieran Conrau (trombone), among others. Their sound is a fusion of jazz, funk, ska, and rock with heavy Latin influences.
Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 772 kilometres (480 mi) north of Sydney and 165 kilometres (103 mi) south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. At the 2021 census, the town had a permanent population of 6,330. It is the largest town of Byron Shire local government area, though not the shire's administrative centre.
Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, hip hop, reggae, rock and EDM in recent years. Bluesfest has become the second largest music festival in Canada and the third largest music festival in North America.
The Byron Bay Bluesfest, formerly the East Coast International Blues & Roots Music Festival, is an annual Australian music festival that has been held over the Easter long weekend in the Byron Bay, New South Wales, area since 1990. The festival features a large selection of blues and roots performers from Australia and around the world and is one of the world's leading contemporary music festivals.
WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse selection of music from artists around the world, as well as side events like talks and discussions.
James Conway is an Australian harmonica player and with his brother, Mic Conway, was a co-founder of the 1970s humour, theatre and rock group, The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band.
Stephen George Page is an Australian choreographer, film director and former dancer. He is the former artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Indigenous Australian dance company. Page is descended from the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali of the Yugambeh people from southeast Queensland, Australia.
Michael Robert "Mojo" Webb is a multi-instrumentalist blues musician, based in Brisbane, Australia. On 8 February 2007, Mojo Webb was awarded the Australian Blues Music Chain Award for 'New Talent of the Year'.
Canadian blues is the blues and blues-related music performed by blues bands and performers in Canada. Canadian blues artists include singers, players of the main blues instruments: guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass and drums, songwriters and music producers. In many cases, blues artists take on multiple roles. For example, the Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner is a singer, harmonica player, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.
Ann Vriend is a Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist based in Edmonton, Alberta.
John McAll is an Australian pianist, composer, arranger and producer, with experience ranging from jazz, pop, blues, rock contemporary classical, afrobeat and theatre.
Owen Orford is an Australian booking agent and concert tour promoter. Orford transitioned from lead singer in Australian touring bands Finch, Contraband and Toys, to venue booker of Sydney venues The Astra Hotel, Bondi Beach and Sydney Cove Tavern from 1979–1982. He went on to promote tours for local and international acts and has booked shows for more than 150 Australian artists.
Mitch Grainger, is an Australian blues and roots rock musician, record producer, educator and inventor who started performing professionally at the age of 13 in Sydney and has since worked with a long list of iconic Australian musicians, such as Harry Vanda of The Easybeats, Malcolm Young of AC/DC and John Brewster of The Angels, as well as Tommy Emmanuel, Alex Lloyd, Kara Grainger, Rick Price, and the Bondi Cigars.
Michael Glenn Chugg is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman and concert tour promoter. As a promoter and manager he was a founder of Frontier Touring Company (1979–99) and Michael Chugg Entertainment (2000–present). On 8 June 1998, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia with the citation "for service to music and the performing arts, particularly in relation to the promotion of Australian artists and to fundraising for youth and children's charities". In 2010, he co-authored his autobiography, Hey, You in the Black T-Shirt: The Real Story of Touring the World's Biggest Acts, with journalist, Iain Shedden. In March 2014 on the 50th anniversary of his start as a promoter, Denis Handlin opined "Chuggy is noisy, wild, cantankerous, the oldest teenager I know and very often a nightmare to deal with. But somehow we all love him because he lives and sweats the business with 100 per cent persistence and passion". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019 Chugg received the ARIA Industry Icon Award.
Irish Mythen is an Irish-born Canadian contemporary folk singer-songwriter. In recent years, Mythen has performed with Rod Stewart, Gordon Lightfoot and Lucinda Williams at major festival stages the world over. Mythen's first two full-length albums were Sweet Necessity in 2008 and Open Here in 2011. She moved to Prince Edward Island in 2007, where she won the Songwriter of the Year Award in 2016 for her song "Gypsy Dancer". Her third album, released in 2014 titled Irish Mythen, won the East Coast Music Association 2015 Roots Album of the Year. Mythen is described as "rambunctious, thoughtful, tender and loud" by ABC Radio National. She was one of several female artists at the 2018 edition of the legendary Cambridge Folk Festival, who were singled out by the Guardian newspaper in their praise of new festival booker Bev Burton's female-heavy line-up for the festival. Australia's premier folk and roots festival Byron Bay Bluesfest call her a 'must see artist' and she is booked to make a third appearance at the festival in 2019.
Collard Greens & Gravy are an Australian blues band which formed as a trio in 1995 by James Bridges on guitar and fiddle, Ian Collard on lead vocals, harmonica and guitar, and Anthony Shortte on drums. Their second studio album, More Gravy (2000), won Best Blues & Roots Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2001. James Bridges died in September 2016 of pancreatic cancer, aged 57. Collard Greens & Gravy reformed in 2017 with Collard joined by Sean "Juke Boy" Emmett on guitar and Jason Liu Soon on drums.
Shaun Kirk is an independent Australian soul and blues singer, songwriter, and musician. He has released four albums: Cruisin′ in 2010, Thank You For Giving Me the Blues in 2011, The Wick Sessions in 2013 and Steer the Wheel in 2014.
