Music in the Snowy Mountains : Thredbo Blues Festival, Australia

Ray Beadle on guitar at the Alpine Bar, Thredbo Australia

Rocking the Blues in the Fresh Air
This is what music festivals are all about: great music in a friendly venue. Ray Beadle is a favourite amongst Australian music fans – myself included (see: Singing the Blues).

Live music is a joy!

I was thrilled to get back to Thredbo, a little alpine village in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park, for the annual Blues Festival this year. Thredbo is one of Australia’s favourite a winter ski resorts. But, I love the Snowy Mountains just as much in summer time – when the air is scented with mountain mint, and the wildflowers are in bloom. The music festival is an added incentive to visit.

This year marked the 29th iteration of the festival, which takes over the little village, filling the crisp, fresh air with happy sounds. Starting on Friday afternoon with complimentary wine and performances indoors and out, the blues are scattered over 60 sets across three days – ending late Sunday night.

I didn’t go the distance: because I stay off the mountain, in the nearby town of Jindabyne, I don’t hang around as late as most of the other festival goers. But, I take in a sampling of the 20 acts, making sure to pre-book my favourite venues and fit in a mountain walk.

The day we walked down from Eagles Nest, the venue at the top of the Kosciuszko Express Chairlift, the weather was perfect for walking – but less good for pictures. I usually include a few from the natural surrounds (see: Thredbo Blues), but this year I have none.

Photographically, the garish lights and tightly packed venues are always a challenge – and this year I was still trying to come to grips with a whole new camera system. I switched to Sony mirrorless cameras late last year, and haven’t done sufficient homework since then, so I’m still struggling.

But, I came away with a lot of pictures – mostly portraits – a few of which I’ll share here. Enjoy!

LilG on guitar in the Village Square, Thredbo Australia

LilG
Kicking off the music in the Village Square, child prodigy 12-year-old LilG covers a broad range of blues classics.

Repeat Offenders blues band, Schuss Bar, Thredbo Australia

Repeat Offenders
Indoors in the Schuss Bar, the new line-up of old musical favourites pound out some seriously swampy southern soul: Gary Lothian on guitar, Rosscoe Clark on drums, Dave Green on bass, …

Sally King
… and Sally King on vocals.

GD & the King Brothers
The Cascades Restaurant is one of my favourite venues: the space lends itself to decent acoustics and the food is fabulous. This is another line-up of performers who have been on the Australian music scene for as long as I can remember!

King Brothers Silhouette
The late afternoon sun angles through the windows as our dinner-set starts. (iPhone12Pro)

Ron King on Harmonica

Jeff King on Guitar

Graeme Druce – Guitar and Vocal
I last saw GD here at Thredbo as part of the Doggn It duo in 2015 (see: Cool Blues, Hot Jazz).

In Good Hands – Jeff King on Slide

Guest Vocals – Jill Tweedie

Necko
Back upstairs, the young Sydney musicians who make up the band Necko are playing in the classic rock style of my youth.

Alek Necko

Frank Sultana Blues Band
My next stop was in the Kosciuszko Room for some more rollicking blues with Frank Sultana on guitar, Adrian Herbert on drums, …

On the Harp
… and Dan Sullivan on harmonica.

Dancing
A number of people took advantage of the great rhythms.

Frank Sultana

Dom Turner
Dom is another classic: I first saw him with the Backsliders at the Basement in Sydney and the Byron Bay Bluesfest … a long time ago!

Moon Shot
Returning to the car after a full afternoon and evening, I decided to test the camera on the moon; not too bad for hand-held!

James Southwell
Back at the Alpine Bar on the Saturday morning, we enjoyed as much of the James Southwell set as we could before it was time to head up the mountain, …

Eagles Nest
… riding the chairlift up to Australia’s highest restaurant. Eagles Nest sits at 1937 metres, a pleasant walk away from Mount Kosciuszko, the country’s highest peak (2228 m; 7310 ft). The band was setting up as we arrived.

The McNaMarr Project
Against a sunny mountain afternoon, the McNaMarr Project keeps us entertained over lunch. This is a combination I always look forward to seeing: multi award-winning blues artists John McNamara and Andrea Marr are a powerhouse duo.

Andrea Marr

Collard Greens & Gravy
You know you are in for some Delta and Swamp Blues when a band is named after a southern dish! But then, the lead singer and harmonica player is actually named Ian Collard. I made the decision to come back the next day for their full set.

Emu
In the meantime, I enjoyed some more performances and some quiet time. This bronze statue by Silvio Apponyi has been in Thredbo since 2002. We often used to see an actual father emu and his young chick along the roadside; the warning sign still stands, but I haven’t seen the birds for many years.

Ian Collard
Sunday morning I was back early for more Collard Greens and Gravy; we were meant to be higher up the mountain, but strong winds had put the gondola on hold.

In the Keller Bar
There is something delightfully decadent about being in a dark bar – complete with a sticky floor – when you know that outside, people are hiking and cycling in the fresh mountain air!

Sean Emmett
I was as captured by the turquoise rings worn by the Collard Greens and Gravy guitarist as I was with his style.

In the Alpine Bar
Music festivals invite collaborations. Kane Dennelly from the frenetic 19Twenty joins legendary Australian guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, and music producer Jeff Lang, and his multi-instrumentalist wife, Alison Ferrier, on stage.

Jeff Lang on Slide

Mark Easton
The Apre Bar is a nightmare venue: tiny and awkward with dreadful lighting. It is often also – as was the case this year – the venue for some of my favourite performances. Who knew that Mongolian throat singing and metal/blues would meld so well! I went away with two CD’s. (I can’t share them because my computer doesn’t have a CD drive. Treat yourself: crank up your volume and search: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=vZMZ7Cgu9lg&list=OLAK5uy_mL6P5_YGzqX27t-S3sHsk-cEP4noK-Af4 )

Stewart D’Arrietta
For a complete change of pace, I headed to the Lounge Bar where Stewart D’Arrietta and his trio served up Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen – I smiled the whole way through.

19Twenty
On the way back to the car, I poked my head into the Keller Bar which was completely packed out; as usual, 19Twenty had the crowd bouncing.