TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE 2012 Tour

After absolutely killing it at BLUESFEST in 2011...TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE are back and going to be taking on Sydney & Melbourne this time round and doing what they do best...SupafunkROCK...!!!

No arguments ... a Grammy-nominated debut album, Backatown...a brand new album in hand For True and a non-stop touring schedule have won them hordes of new fans across 5 continents.

Jaded ... NO WAY ... in the middle of all this constant touring TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE found time to record a new album ‘For True'. "We did over 200 shows in the last year and a half, and every night we allowed the music to take us over. Musically and creatively, we wanted to shoot for some different things."
The band - Mike Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey Peebles on drums, Dwayne Williams on percussion, Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax and Tim McFatter on tenor sax - stirs together old-school New Orleans jazz, funk and soul, laced with hard-rock power chords and hip-hop beats, and they've added some tangy new ingredients on For True as they keep pushing the envelope, exploring new musical territory.

Add to that an amazing guest line-up - Lenny Kravitz, Kid Rock, Jeff Beck, Ivan & Cyril Neville ,Warren Haynes, Ledisi, Ben Ellman from Galactic, and rapper 5th Ward Weebie - and it’s not hard to see why ‘So True’ flew to the top of the US charts.

“He’s a genius player” says Lenny Kravitz.

“I was completely blown away” says Jeff Beck ... who invited TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE to open for him on his UK dates last year.

"I'm fans of all those people," says Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews. "I met them over the last year or two of touring, and I've been wanting to work with all of those guys and Ledisi. It's like this musical community. It's not like I reached out to them because I needed some big names on the record. I'm really interested in their music and their talents. So for me it's a dream come true to work with some of my favourite artists. Whatever they need me to do, I'll be there."

He started early, born and raised in Tremé in New Orleans, learning how to play drums and what he remembers as "the world's smallest trumpet" at the age of three. By the time he reached six, this prodigy was playing trumpet and trombone in a jazz band led by his older brother James, himself a trumpet player of local renown who has been called "Satchmo of the Ghetto." Not long afterward, Troy formed his own band with some other musically inclined kids from Tremé, including current band mate Williams, and they became regulars at Jackson Square, playing for spare change and pulling in as much as $400 apiece on a particularly hopping weekend.

During a visit to a small New Orleans club, Bono and the Edge happened upon the trombone player, who was then 12. "We walked in and the place was jumping," the Edge recalled. "There was this little funk band, but they were all playing brass instruments, which is something I'd never heard of or seen before. We were just mesmerized by him. I ended up with Bono, after a few tequilas, dancing with a bunch of girls on the top of the bar. It was one of those sorts of nights."

He paid his dues working behind Lenny Kravitz for 18 months – Lenny rates him as ’a genius player. ..... he plays his ass off, and he’s a beautiful human being.’

He holds great store to the ‘New Orleans tradition’ of music - and, while not only carrying on that tradition and expanding its boundaries, Troy has lent a generous helping hand to the next generation as well, having given longstanding support to the city's renowned Roots of Music program. Troy was also recently honoured by being named the youngest member of the NOCCA Foundation board - the foundation behind New Orleans' Centre for the Creative Arts where Troy and several of his band members studied and began collaborating. He's also finalizing plans for his own new foundation aimed at making sure that talented younger players with limited resources can get quality instruments to play. Last September, he started his first delivery of Trombone Shorty trumpets and trombones to talented young musicians across the city.

TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE – a 200 proof power-packed performance of blistering funk, rock, jazz & RnB grooves – Don’t Miss These Guys.

KEB MO Touring Australia with his band for the first time this Easter

Anyone who has seen KEB MO before will remember his mesmerising performance, his rich, distinctive, smoky voice which spins emotive & passionate stories.

This multi Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist is bringing with him his highly-anticipated album The Reflection & touring Australia for the first time with a full band.

The Reflection was written and recorded over a period of three years, and is his first release since 2006. Self-produced, the 12-song set features duets with India Arie and Vince Gill, as well as performances by Dave Koz, Marcus Miller, Mindi Abair and world-renowned studio musician David T. Walker.

The Reflection finds KEB stretching out into various styles, rooted in Soul, Jazz and R&B. His trademark honest, unadorned vocal, his deceptively simple, sublime guitar work and his catchy melodies are here, of course, but with this recording KEB is more expressive than ever. He has significantly raised the bar for himself.

"I worked on this record for the better part of 2 years," says KEB. "It took me some time as this was an educational process for me and my engineer John Schirmer. I didn't want to let it go until I had something that I was proud to share with the public. It's the culmination of all of my influences throughout my career."

KEB MO has consistently garnered acclaim throughout his career, with three of his records winning the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. He co-wrote "I Hope" with the Dixie Chicks which received a Grammy nomination for Country Song of the Year.

A gifted songwriter, KEB'S songs have been covered by legendary artists including BB King, Natalie Cole and more and he has appeared on recordings by Willie Nelson, Ray Charles and Jackson Browne, to name a few

His music has long been regarded as a living link to the seminal Delta blues, and though his roots are in the Deep South, his success has spread worldwide. KEB MO is one of those performers who have taken the blues beyond its traditional audience and for those lucky enough to be in Adelaide, don’t miss the very special performance as KEB plays alongside “Africa’s premier diva” ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO (Time Magazine) for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance.

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO & KEB MO Live in Concert

“Her spirit is irrepressible, and she brings life to everything she touches” – Peter Gabriel

2012 will see the one of the greatest forces in African music ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO return to the Adelaide Festival Centre with Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist KEB MO for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance.

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO has an undeniable creative energy that is evident across her eleven international albums. Her most recent release, 2010’s Oyo is no exception, featuring John Legend, Bono and Dianne Reeves, it is a deeply introspective, reflecting on the events that have brought her to this point.

“Without music I don’t think I would have had the adolescence and the childhood that I had,” she says, recalling that she was just six when she first appeared on stage. ‘Atcha Houn,’ a traditional track of staccato vocals laid over the sparse plucking of a guitar, was the song she sang as a young girl and features on Oyo.

“When your history is not written, you count on storytellers and traditional singers in Africa to tell you who you are, what your family’s about and what is going on in your society. This is what I do with my music, because I am a witness of my time.”

Not only is ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO an amazing songstress and storyteller, she has an amazing story herself. Having grown up in the West African state of Benin and being forced into exile aboard to avoid imprisonment, this Grammy award winning inspiration still bears witness to her African roots. Her fierce advocacy of humanitarianism and women’s rights, prompted Time Magazine to call her “Africa’s premier diva” and The Guardian to list her in their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World.

Anyone who has seen KEB MO before will remember his mesmerising performance, his rich, distinctive, smoky voice which spins emotive & passionate stories.

His music has long been regarded as a living link to the seminal Delta blues, and though his roots are in the Deep South, his success has spread worldwide. KEB MO is one of those performers who have taken the blues beyond its traditional audience, with his wide-ranging, appealing music and infectious performances and for the very first time he will be touring Australia with a full band.

Catch this unforgettable double bill, the “wildly intoxicating musical brew” (Mojo Magazine) that is ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO’s alongside the mesmerising KEB MO.

SEASICK STEVE

“Probably the greatest live bluesman on the planet”
-Joe Cushley, Mojo

SEASICK STEVE is back!! – With a new album - and even perhaps a new direction and he’s heading our way. As well as a special BLUESFEST appearance SEASICK STEVE will be taking on Melbourne in April 2012.

His new album ; You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks showcases not only SEASICK STEVE’S signature array of classic blues styles - but also previously unheard styles of Steve’s; from Appalachian mountains and down home Kentucky Bluegrass to Nashville country gospel via Greenwich Village coffee house folk balladry.

Given the aural evidence of his back catalogue, classifying Steve as a blues artist is pretty understandable, but it does do him a slight disservice. His material, like his life, is drawn from a long rich history of experience and a broad palette of influences. “I got so many damned songs, it’s like a big old train and only part of them get into the station,” Steve affirms. “The rest of them are just waiting for the next station.”

And it took a while for that train to reach the first station! After nearly half a century spent in obscurity, SEASICK STEVE -- with one electrifying performance on Jools Holland's Hootenanny, New Years Eve 2007 -- burst on to the UK scene.

Four years and four Jools Holland shows later, plus guest spots on Jonathan Ross, Top Gear, and many more; performances at nearly every major UK festival, including 3 barnstorming main stage Glastonbury appearances, and rocking shows at V Festival, Reading & Leeds, Hard Rock Calling, Latitude Festival, major European festivals like Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop and of course… a couple of visits to BLUESFEST; plus over one million records sold; all serve to firmly establish SEASICK STEVE as a real star.

All of this without a radio hit or playlist, just a battered 3-string guitar, a one-string Diddley Bo' (a piece of 2x4 wood with a string nailed to it) and a collection of other cheap and interesting instruments that some would just about call "firewood", plus the Mississippi Drum Machine (a wooden box with some carpet on top, and a Mississippi license plate on the front).

With these, SEASICK STEVE has sold out such venues as London's historic Royal Albert Hall, the Hammersmith Apollo, Brixton O2 Academy, and many more.

There are no fancy frills in his records, no light shows on stage, no backing tapes, no auto-tune, no whistles OR bells... just some get-down, go-for-it, foot-stomping, real... live... music.

As far as we can figure, this hasn't ever really happened before -- a guy, way past his apparent sell-by date, who has never been famous, suddenly garnering so much attention and success, not just with the older crowds, but equally as much with the young hip festival and concert goers -- this is history. Catch this truly unique performer this Easter.

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD

The guitar driven, blues prodigy, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, is coming to Australia. There are few artists whose names are synonymous with one instrument and how it's played in service to an entire genre. This is one such artist.

KENNY WAYNE was given his first guitar at 3 years old, was playing by 7 after meeting Stevie Ray Vaughan and sharing the stage with New Orleans legend Bryan Lee at 13. Utter the phrase "young blues guitarist" within earshot of anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the modern musical vanguard and the first name they are most likely to respond with will be KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD.

"At this point, most people who know about me know I can play guitar,” KENNY WAYNE says. "As far as my approach to guitar on this record, it's not about showing people how much I can play. It’s about really choosing the right notes and playing them at the right times so that every note penetrates people, and they feel it inside and it’s not just some fleeting thing that just goes right by them.”

Praise comes thick and fast for this multi-Grammy nominee who has secured a swag of awards including two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards. He also holds the record for the longest-running album on the Billboard Blues Charts with ‘Trouble Is’. Still barely in his 30s, this Louisiana born axeman and songsmith has been selling albums by the million, shining a light on the rich blues of the past and forging ahead with his own modern twist on a classic sound he has embodied since his teens. His six studio albums (3 of which are platinum-selling), and his seven Top 10 singles including ‘Blue on Black’ (#1 on the Rock Charts for 17 consecutive weeks), ‘Somehow, Somewhere, Someway’ and ‘Slow Ride’, cement his place in the deep heritage of the blues genre.

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD'S new album How I Go serves as a strong reminder of the chops that caused Guitar World to place him right behind B.B. King and Eric Clapton on their list of blues guitarists, and it's the strongest indication yet of his gifted songwriting talent.

“The net effect of this kind of talent and effort—is a soulful experience that covers a lot of ground. This album is very much worth the wait.” - Joe Coffey PREMIER GUITAR

"I’ve got a lot of a career left ahead of me and a lot of records left to make," he says. "I’m hoping to be playing music when I’m in my 80’s like B.B. King. I’ve got a lot more songs left in me to write and record. My fans want to hear new music, they want to hear new albums, and then when they hear a new record they want to come out and hear us play that stuff live."

Having toured for nearly 20 years, KENNY WAYNE says "I get up on stage every night to play my heart out and to try to turn people on their ear, man. I want to bring light into people's lives with my music. If I can make people feel good for an hour and a half to two hours and forget about whatever might be stressing them out, then I'm doing my job."

So let’s forget the world for a while and relish in KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD’S unique blues infused rock hitting Sydney & Melbourne this Easter.

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO

“Her spirit is irrepressible, and she brings life to everything she touches” – Peter Gabriel

2012 will see the one of the greatest forces in African music ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO return to Australian shores.

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO has an undeniable creative energy that is evident across her eleven international albums. Her most recent release, 2010’s Oyo is no exception, featuring John Legend, Bono and Dianne Reeves, it is a deeply introspective, reflecting on the events that have brought her to this point.

“Without music I don’t think I would have had the adolescence and the childhood that I had,” she says, recalling that she was just six when she first appeared on stage. ‘Atcha Houn,’ a traditional track of staccato vocals laid over the sparse plucking of a guitar, was the song she sang as a young girl and features on Oyo.

Not only is ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO an amazing songstress and storyteller, she has an amazing story herself. Having grown up in the West African state of Benin and being forced into exile aboard to avoid imprisonment, this Grammy award winning inspiration still bears witness to her African roots.

Her fierce advocacy of humanitarianism and women’s rights, prompted Time Magazine to call her “Africa’s premier diva” and The Guardian to list her in their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Her friend and mentor Miriam Makeba was a constant source of guidance. “Miriam Makeba was the African role model that I needed...She’s really the person behind my choice of life, of being a singer.”

Makeba’s campaigning against apartheid, cost her right to a South African citizenship and resulted in a 30-year exile. Similarly, ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO’s campaigning for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, as well as her own organization, Batonga Foundation, which provides African girls with an education, will go down in the annals of history.

“When your history is not written, you count on storytellers and traditional singers in Africa to tell you who you are, what your family’s about and what is going on in your society. This is what I do with my music, because I am a witness of my time.”

Her rich and resonating voice coupled with her powerful mastery of language, results in a truly unique sound, but it’s on stage that ANGÉLIQUE really shines - her booming voice and infectious, joyous stage presence will have you dancing in no time. Catch her “wildly intoxicating musical brew” (Mojo Magazine) across Australia this Easter. If you are lucky enough to be in Adelaide ANGÉLIQUE will be supported by the Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist KEB MO for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance.

GREAT BIG SEA
First Australian tour

GREAT BIG SEA is a bastard...by their own admission. Some of Canada’s favourite sons are giving Australia their first ever tour. This folk-rock partnership was forged in the harsh lands and rowdy pubs of St Johns, Newfoundland – yes NEW-F-F- -F- FOUND-LAND !! where co-founders Sean McCann and Bob Hallett met while playing traditional folk songs for boisterous crowds made up of hard-partying university students and off-duty fisherman. In 1993, after meeting fellow socio-holic and pub stalwart Alan Doyle they started GREAT BIG SEA in an attempt to create a new approach to Newfoundland folk music one that combined their original music with the traditional sounds and instruments they had grown up with.

"We weren’t the best musicians in town” says Bob Hallett, candidly, “we just wanted it more. We were driven by a bloody-minded need to succeed and we were rewarded for our bleeding.”

Now, 17 years, 9 studio albums later and a major contribution to The Shipping News score – GREAT BIG SEA have won over a global audience with their eclectic musical mix drawn from their rich English-Irish-French heritage. Somewhere along the way, GREAT BIG SEA ceased to be just a band - for the three core members and their assorted collaborators, it’s a way of life.

“Our music is of Newfoundland,” explains Sean McCann. “It would be impossible to do what we do if we were from anywhere else. Our songs come from the sea and the cliffs and the rocks and all the other natural beauties our country provides. Without her we simply couldn’t exist.”

As their home has characterised their music, so too has GREAT BIG SEA come to represent and define the energetic spirit that is Newfoundland. But this is no ordinary ‘sea shanty’ band. Their influences range from Bob Marley, The Clash, and Johnny Cash to Fergus O’Byrne and Donal Lunny.

“There’s a lot of creativity in this band,” says Alan Doyle, “too much for an album every two years. We all have lots of other ideas, ambitions, and paths we want to travel – that said, we wouldn’t have stuck together this long if we didn’t know how special this band was. We are not finished yet by a long shot.”

And their crowds are always wanting more from this highly anticipated act “We are showmen and we live and die by our trade,” offers electrified lead singer Alan Doyle “I am drawn to the light and I was born to burn”.

Catch their creativity and their raucous live shows this April along with their ever growing ‘Great Big Sea’ of fans, and be captivated by the obvious and genuine love for the music GREAT BIG SEA perform.

FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS

For the last 30 years the W.C. Handy award winning ‘Best Blues Band’ THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS have been winning audiences over worldwide with their unique blend of Texas blues & harmonica laced swamp sounds. Now it’s our turn.

This quintessential American band were instrumental in helping kick-start the blues revival scene during the mid-'80s and after showcasing their high energy, distinctive and powerful music on tour with the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, they won the masses over with hits like Tuff Enuff & Wrap it up. Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole original member, still spearheads the group as it evolves into its newest incarnation.

"We started as a straight blues band", vocalist and harmonica player Wilson says. "We now incorporate a mixture of a lot of different styles. We're an American music band and we're much higher energy than we were before."

In addition to Wilson, the current THUNDERBIRDS line-up features Jay Moeller on drums, Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller on guitar, and Randy Bermudes on bass.

The late 70’s saw THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS release their first self-titled album. Primarily blues influenced, it became a cult classic. In subsequent releases, the band started to incorporate more Cajun, rock 'n roll and soul influences.

The album T-Bird Rhythm marked a creative turning point for the group as it collaborated with noted producer Nick Lowe. In the mid 80’s, THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS reached a commercial peak with the album, Tuff Enuff. The single of the same title as well as the singles Wrap It Up and Look At That, all went top 40, cementing their place on the blues scene.

The thread throughout the T-Birds career has been the respect the group commanded for its peerless musicianship and devotion to the sounds of blues, R & B and rock 'n roll.

"The thing about the T-Birds is that we can play both blues festival and rock venues," Wilson comments. "We're a diversified band now and everybody's on the same page."

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS, and particularly frontman Kim Wilson, are revered by many of their peers, including Muddy Waters who has long called Kim his favourite harmonica player & vocalist.

"This is a great time for this band," Kim Wilson says. "We're looking forward to the future." And so are we, you won’t want to miss these guitar driven sounds this Easter.

STEVE EARLE 2012 AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Singer-songwriter, actor, author, political activist, producer – STEVE EARLE is one of life’s great troubadours!!! STEVE EARLE hasn’t wandered this way for a number of years.... In fact ... it’s been three albums & and three Grammy Awards since we saw him last. He will be touring around Australia and you can catch him in Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney or Byron Bay for BLUESFEST.

A protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, STEVE EARLE quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and immediately established the term “New Country.” What followed was an extremely exciting and varied array of releases including the biting hard rock of Copperhead Road (1988), the minimalist beauty of Train A Comin’ (1995), the politically charge masterpiece, Jerusalem (2002) and the three Grammy Award Winning albums The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007) and Townes (2009).

“This may be the shaggy outlaw’s most polished set” - Rolling Stone

I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive - STEVE EARLE’S 14th Studio Album – was produced by T Bone Burnett and includes the title track song (a Hank Williams cover) and his original - ‘This City’- written especially for the TV Series Treme (in which he appears as cast member, ‘Harley’).

STEVE EARLE’S long anticipated debut novel of the same name, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, was published earlier this year. The novel imagines the troubled life of Doc Ebersole as he is haunted by the ghost of his former patient and friend, Hank Williams. The title of both Steve Earle’s new album and debut novel is taken from the Hank Williams song by the same name; the last single released during his lifetime in 1952.

To go with this new album STEVE EARLE has embarked on a seemingly endless tour (thankfully for us) ...and we are proud to announce these Australian shows for 2012