Australia’s foremost jazz and blues music festival, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues, is back from November 2nd to 4th in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria.
This year’s program is the most internationally-diverse in the festival’s history, with a program jam-packed with fresh new faces, venerable favourites and award-winning musicians from the UK, US, France, Japan, Indonesia, the Czech Republic, India, The Netherlands, Germany, Sri Lanka, Canada and Australia.
Artist highlights include:
- UK blues guitarist, Matt Schofield
- Vocalist Wilma Reading
- World-class sonic improvisers, FORQ, from the US, featuring keyboardist Henry Hey and bassist Michael League
- From The Netherlands, the Yuri Honing Quartet
- The world premiere of a new work by the Australian Art Orchestra — a contemplation of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day in music by Andrea Keller, Peter Knight and Tilman Robinson
- Opelousas, a new blues collaboration between Kerri Simpson, Alison Ferrier and Anthony ‘Shorty’ Shortte of Collard Greens and Gravy fame
- Ex-Canberra guitarist, Alex Stuart, touring with his French quintet
- 2017-18 MBAS Blues Performer of The Year, Kelly Auty, performing her new all-original blues album, Kelly’s Blues
- The Adam Simmons Creative Music Ensemble with the Afrolankan Drumming System (Ray Pereira) and Indian dancer Vikram Iyengar performing The Calling
- 2017 National Jazz Award winner, James Macaulay, with the Hishakaku Quartet
- Triple J Unearthed indie-jazz-roots darlings, JAKAL, with Jessie Hillel (NZ) on vocals
- Justine Clarke of Playschool fame presenting a ‘jazz for children’ concert
- A rare performance by jazz royalty, Ten Part Invention, celebrating over 30 years of creating music.
For more details and program grid, head to the Wangaratta Jazz website.
Proudly presented by PBS 106.7FM.
