Courtesy of the Sydney Blues Society

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At the top of the Kosciuszko chairlift, hundreds sat in the sun listening to Li Fi and the Hornets

The Thredbo Blues Festival has to be one of my favourites -everything is within walking distance - even though there are shuttle buses running backwards and forwards right throughout the weekend - venues that actually have happy, blues-enthusiasticwaiter/waitresses, great variety of food and the BEST choice of blues artists from Friday evening, right through until the early hours of Monday morning! No wonder Christopher and I took Friday and Monday off work - these things have to be eased into and out of gently - priorities, that's the key!

First step, checked into the, now familiar, Thredbo Alpine Hotel, collected our passes, flopped onto our King size bed with a cup of coffee and marked out what our 'must see' choices were for the weekend on the venue/artist guide. These things have to be carefully planned in advance - once the treadmill starts you tend to forget time and intentions without a little reminder in the back pocket.

Quietly does it, a nice meal at the Sante to the sultry sounds of Fiona Boyes - unique voice and personality plus! Still in laid back mode it was off to the Lounge Bar inside our hotel to check out another winner, Bo Jenkins on his dobro, performing a variety of blues/country numbers. This has to be one of the best ways to listen to blues - a sunken room filled with lots of comfy lounges - sort of like being entertained in your own home.

A short walk to the Credo saw Bridie & the Boogie Kings performing, with Toni Swain stepping in on vocals - what a show! Very tight band and Bridie having the best night of almost anyone else in the room! We decided not to overdo it on the first evening, so it was off to the T.J. Blanch File for the finale, and what a choice! Troy has to have one of the darkest, funkiest, bluesiest (?) vocal styles in the business! No wonder he was winner of the New Talent category at last year's Goulburn Festival! And what a band - so tight - a perfect ending to the day, with the realisation that there were another 48 hours to go!

The only down side to the whole weekend was the unfortunate cancellation of one of the overseas attractions - Jimmy Dawkins. This was unavoidable, as Jimmy became ill literally hours before departing America. We all wish Jimmy a very speedy recovery and hopefully will catch up with him at a future festival. Like lightning the programme was slightly altered, giving us the opportunity to enjoy a real crowd pleaser, Ray Beadle & The Vipers, plus The Foreday Riders - hey, who is complaining?!

Everyone agrees that Poolside is definitely one of the favourite venues to check out a variety of blues.

Picture this - inviting, sparkling water, surrounded by raised steps to lounge around, tables, chairs, unbrellas surrounding the open stage, a BBQ cooking an endless supply of tasty suasage sandwiches, and a bar for those long cool drinks - then there is the music itself - what more could you want?

This was the popular choice of many for Saturday's itinerary. The first surprise was a band called Claymore. Never heard of them, I hear you say - well neither had anyone else, because they were the wild card, playing the most entertaining celtic/rock - everything from Danny Boy to the AC/DC number, Long Way To The Top! Once again I say, "thank you Peter Ghossein" for thinking 'outside the square' and giving us one of the most entertaining bands during the whole weekend!

Completing the poolside entertainment was Steve Arvey, making the trip from Chicago and performing on acoustic guitar, which was a little quiet for this open venue - but I hear he really brought the house down later that night in the Keller bar with his 'all Australian' backing band!

Also poolside were Bo Jenkins and Damon Davies - also solo artists, but with a bit more 'out there' in their delivery and personalities.

This laid back venue does tend to have a lulling effect on the listener, so who can blame the artist for feeling the same!

In between the previous line-up we managed to catch a set of Tasmania's Queen of the Blues, Kate Meehan, playing at another popular restaurant, The Loose Goose. Great vibes in this place, with a very Blues oriented menu and great staff. Kate, as usual, had us mesmerized one moment and rocking the next with her good choice of originals and covers. Dragging ourselves away (remember that timetable) we caught up with the Matt Walker Band from Victoria - with our very own Grant Cummerford (ex Third Degree) slapping and plucking away on that low slung bass. First class performance from Matt and his band - naturally I bought the CD and have played it to death since! Finished the night off with some rockin' good blues with Jacko and Third Degree at the Schuss Bar. Another perfect end to the day - that King size bed was looking very inviting!

Only one day left! - where had the weekend gone? First choice, Peter Harper trio at the Loose Goose. I had only seen Peter perform in electric mode and always enjoyed his intense harp playing, but this trio was just so relaxing, as well as entertaining. Peter on harp and vocals, with some well written lifestyle blues numbers, complemented by a guy playing didgeridoo (a new blues instrument?) and another young guy, Brett Wood on acoustic and electric guitars. Brett also has his own CD out 'Turn It Up', which is a collection of instrumentals, from heavy blues to quiet, almost classical numbers. I also bought that! Peter's performance was, as usual, professional and very entertaining. No wonder they love him in America!

We had pre-booked lunch at the Credo to catch a couple of sets of Kate Meehan, which we again thoroughly enjoyed, while sampling some of Thredbo's popular dish - baked trout! Now you can't get that at a tent festival! Back to poolside for a few hours to boogie/swing/jive the afternoon away with that hot band, Ray Beadle & The Vipers and some shuffle blues with the legendary Foreday Riders. Now I ask you, where else would you choose to be?!

At this stage we decided not to eat another thing, and give the body a short rest back at the hotel, until my favourite artist (sorry, there has to be one favourite for everyone) Lil' Fi and the Vernons appeared in the Lounge Bar. What can I say - this lady just has to be one of Australia's most unique performers. Voice, personality, musical ability (playing a stand up drum surrounded by bright pink feathers), original numbers that have you quietly choked up one moment and laughing with tears the next or up out of your seat boogieing with every other person in the room! The rest of the band were no slouches either, with Dirk DuBois showcasing his new Beeton guitar, along with the familiar Churchill and electric, and Peter Howell on double bass. The evening was brought to even further heights with Fiona Boyes stepping in to play lead guitar - the air was electric (excuse the pun). How could you top that! Well we did after going for a quiet walk through the village we checked the winners of the raffle held over the weekend and discovered that Christopher had won 2nd Prize!!! A double pass for next year's Festival - as if we wouldn't have come back anyway!

Thank you Thredbo, all the staff and artists (even those we didn't manage to catch up with - there are just so many hours in the day).

See you next year, at the 10th Annual Thredbo Blues Festival.

*Julie Fox

Julie Fox writes for the Sydney Blues Society. Thredbo Blues thanks the Sydney Blues Society for this contribution

www.sydneyblues.org