TICKETS are available at the gate or online:
http://home.oztix.com.au/?m=Choose&eventID=6320&promoID=100
or phone Oztix.com on 1300 762 545
or, with a small booking charge from "Shake it Up" and "Leading Edge" music stores in Nambour as well as all OzTix outlets.

TICKETS COSTS ARE:
Season Pass – includes onsite camping: $70
QAC/Artsun, BASEQ members: $60

Friday day pass 6pm - 12mn: $20
Saturday day pass 9am – 12mn: $35
Evening pass 8pm – 12mn: $25
Sunday day pass 9am – 5pm: $20

Camping is still cheap and handy - you can camp very close to the action if you like - or a little futher away in the quiet zone' on the hill, if you're a light sleeper! Camping costs are included in the 'season pass' or $10 per person per night.

The Festival will host another Art Exhibition on a blues theme. You're sure to find great work in a variety of styles. Contact us at artsun@bigpond.com if you are an artist interested in exhibiting. All media welcome. Art and craft stallholders are also invited to email us for site information and details.

BLUES FAMILY TO GATHER AT NAMBOUR

This year’s fantastic line up of talent brings Music Oz 2006 Best Blues Band “Extended Family” and “The Ray Beadle Band” from Sydney along with Festival Favourites Mojo Webb, Mason Rack, Hat Fitz and a host of Queensland’s best Blues Artists.

“MUSIC OZ 2006 BEST BLUES BAND” EXTENDED FAMILY - Fresh from the husky delta of the inner Sydney streets, comes a band that unravels contemporary roots, funk, soul and blues, to create something deliciously sexy and new that you can't help but groove to … "Australia has a great tradition of exuberant, crowd-thrilling bands - from Daddy Cool and Skyhooks, to Cat Empire. Extended Family is the next in line…” http://www.extendedfamily.com.au/

RAY BEADLE BAND - Ray Beadle is a regular on the Australian blues festival circuit and has played premier venues such as Sydney's “The Basement”. This talented young performer has been invited to play with the likes of Renee Geyer, Foreday Riders and The Hippos and currently leads his own trio incorporating his own style of jump blues and swing. Leading his earlier band The Vipers, Ray was filmed by Foxtel as part of their "Live At The Basement" series. His USA tours have been highly successful playing in venues such as B.B. King's Blues Club in Memphis and Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago as well as southern blues festivals. Ray has also recorded in America and has been asked to play with US artists such as Andy Just and Chris Cain. Cain has said the Ray is unquestionably one of the finest musicians he has come across. He stated "His songwriting has a harmonic and emotional depth that many strive for but few capture, and his guitar work ......well, let's say this cat is very dangerous". http://www.myspace.com/raybeadle

MOJO WEBB - 2006 AUSTRALIAN BLUES MUSIC AWARD: Best New Talent Of The Year. Mojo Webb is making waves in the Australian blues and roots scene. Utterly fresh and unique but steeped in the tradition of real, authentic blues, Mojo's music is truly world-class, he is a versatile electric and acoustic guitarist…and harp player and sax…and drums… with a truly amazing voice. His charisma, naturally engaging stage presence and incendiary performances are making him a firm festival favorite and of course a local legend in his native Brisbane. Make no mistake, Mojo is the real deal and it won’t be long before the whole world knows. http://www.mojowebb.com/

HAT FITZ - The wild man of Australian blues, Fitz hails from the Sunshine Coast. Backed by his longtime drummer Itchy, Fitz plays guitar (usually a metal-bodied resonator), stomps his foot and sings the blues with a presence and power that remind listeners of past blues greats like Son House and Charley Patton. In many ways, he's Australia's counterpart to R.L. Burnside or T-Model Ford, playing gritty North Mississippi hill country-styled blues of mesmerizing, deceptive simplicity. Thanks to Fitz's telepathic rapport with Itchy, the duo can build their performances through a series of frenetic crescendos. For over 20 years Hat Fitz and Itchy have toured regularly, playing festivals around Australia and in Europe. They've performed for over 13 consecutive years at the East Coast Bluesfest and have released a string of independent CDs. http://www.hatfitz.net/

BARRY CHARLES - Recognized internationally as well as here at home on the Sunshine Coast is a unique singer from a blues and rock background and renowned for his exceptional vocal range and technique. He performs with spontaneity, emotion and originality to which he adds the magic ingredients of soulfulness, humour and a great repertoire. Festival performances in 2007: 'Mission Bay Jazz/Blues Festival' in Auckland, New Zealand; 'Blues On Broadbeach Festival', Gold Coast; 'Noosa Jazz/Blues Festival’.

NATURAL BALL - chosen as the Blues Association of South-East Queensland (BASEQ) inaugural Performer of the Year Competition winning act in 2007, Natural Ball received a place on the 2008 Festival line-up at The Australian Blues Festival at Goulburn, NSW in February 2008! These cats live to play with a genuine love and admiration for bluesmen including Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and T-Bone Walker, they are grounded in the traditions of the golden era of the blues.

The music kicks off at 6pm on Friday night with local blues trio Triple Shot setting the pace for the weekend. Brisbane favourites Blonde on Blue, The Summerland Band & The Blue Rhythm Kings get things cooking and the awesome Mason Rack Band return from their recent Canadian tour to headline the evening.

The Saturday Main Stage program begins with a host of Queensland’s best Blues Artists. The Blues Shakers will rock your Blues Soul. Legendary vocalist Barry Charles, The Chardonnay Sippers, Blind Lemon, J.B.Lewis Band and Men In Blues all add their flavour to the gumbo of blues on offer setting up the evening for the headline acts.

Sunday begins with the Gospel Brunch with the Hallelujah Chorus singing it up for the bountiful feast of Blues on offer over the weekend, followed by a full day of music led off by Sunshine Coast favourites Peter Steel & The Painkillers, cruising into the afternoon with Light Street Motors and The Big Easy to reach a crescendo with the amazing talent of Mojo Webb and his band headlining the afternoon. The Festival closes with the homegrown Allstar Zydeco Revue celebrating the end of a wonderful weekend of great Blues, friends and fun.

The popular Blues Club Stage opens at 10:30 am with a workshop in slide guitar with award winning Sunny Coast musician Gerry O’Brien. Throughout Saturday the Blues Club Stage showcases and promotes local talent opening at 12 noon with the rockin’ swamp Blues of Cleveland, followed by the blackboard jam running from 12:45pm. All musicians attending the Festival can put their names down to play. Mason Rack features in an encore performance and, later in the evening, an awesome collective of musicians will present the MUD tribute, paying homage to the music of legendary Blues Man Muddy Waters. Sunday revs up with a harmonica workshop by Blues Harmonica Legend, Mark “The Colonel” Doherty, followed by feature Showcase band Jimi Beavis and the 385’s and then Blues Jam action into the afternoon.

The Festival is staged annually by Artsun (Arts Council Sunshine Coast Inc), the Sunshine Coast's own Local Arts Council affiliated with Queensland Arts Council (QAC). Artsun presents the annual Sunshine Coast Blues Festival as part of its commitment to supporting and promoting the arts across the coast. Artsun is a local, non-profit, volunteer community association. Working in partnership with over 60 Local Arts Councils across the state QAC brings high quality arts experiences to over 500,000 regional Queenslanders each year.

The Sunshine Coast Blues Festival is proudly supported by The Queensland Arts Council & Heritage Building Society Arts Partnership Fund and Sunshine Coast Regional Council through their grants program. The Festival is grateful for the ongoing support of our many sponsors & supporters. We especially thank our team of Volunteers who give their time to make it happen.

BLUES CLUBS

Artsun host two regular Blues Clubs on the Sunshine Coast - one at the Royal George Hotel in Nambour on the first Thursday of every month. The second is in the Noosa area,on the third Wednesday of each month. Negotiations are under way for a new venue, following the closing of the popular Boathouse Floating Restaurant. We will provide venue details once it is confirmed. More information: http://www.myspace.com/sunshinecoastbluesclub