By Dennis Atkins The hard feelings, the scars, the money lost, the bitter disappointment, the empty Easter weekend, the two-timing, cheating and lying are all still there. Yet in place of Byron Bay Bluesfest appeared a somewhat spontaneous, almost organic sprouting of gigs, from Brunswick Heads to Lennox Heads, with Byron Bay at its centre. It was there where people saw a roof-raising blast of a show. At the Byron Theatre, a gig that was supposed to be a highlight of Bluesfest, once the best festival [...]

By Dennis Atkins Early this year, South East Queensland blues artist Zed Charles, known for his relentless gigging and his Porch Blues shows in Caboolture, was quickly making a name for himself. He made it into the final rounds looking for the best original blues CD at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. And now that starter-kit of fame has grown some wings. At the IBC in January, the Blues Boy from Bowen watched his CD, Hear My Word, advance through to the third round of [...]

By Dennis Atkins In 1964, Belfast-born Van Morrison was a fresh-faced, ginger-headed Northern Irishman pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician, fronting his band, Them. In his mind and his heart ran a quest for the sense and sensibility of the American blues from the Deep South. Morrison’s ambitions found favour with the record label Decca, which had already signed a band with deep blues roots, the Rolling Stones. Whereas the Stones kicked off their career with a Chuck Berry song, Come On, Them’s first single, [...]