“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.”
~ Hunter S. Thompson
It just hasn’t stopped raining here at Bluesfest, but with our trusty gumboots on we are still whooping it up and having plenty of fun. I’d forgotten how freeing it is to be muddy and soggy and dancing in the rain. Plus there is fantastic chai, lots of good eats, and plenty of spots to get under cover for a while. And we get to come home to a warm house, hot showers, clean sheets and two dogs who give us a joyous welcome each night.
Here are some of our musical finds of Bluesfest 2015:
Pokey Lafarge sings the La La Blues. I love these guys – they sound like something straight from the old-school deep south. Makes you want to chew on a stalk of grass and get those feet stompin’.
Melbourne Ska Orchestra have a big feel-good sound, as you’d expect from a 26 piece band. These are the guys who used to crowd the aisles of school buses with their trumpet and trombone cases, and who were maybe not the coolest kids in school. Hey – look at them now. Musos rule! But you knew that. If you read my blog you were probably one of those kinds of kids too. I know I was. 🙂 The other great thing about these guys is their vocal support of the charity The Thin Green Line, assisting International Park Rangers as they protect endangered species and ecosystems, and giving aid to the families of those rangers who are killed in the line of duty. During MSO’s set buckets were passed around to collect donations for this charity, raising over $3000 to buy mosquito nets for rangers and their families.
Counting Crows are a band from my youth, and their music is still as resonantly beautiful as ever. Ballads that touch your heart, make you smile, cry and everything in between.
Last, but not least, Diesel N’ Dub is a collaboration that features Australian and international reggae and roots artists performing covers of Midnight Oil songs – songs with political and socially conscious messages. This is a project dear to my heart, supporting and raising money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and bringing a focus to issues that need awareness and consideration within our community. And the music? Fantastic!
I’d forgotten how much music means to me, and I am grateful for a weekend filled with music that fuels my soul. <3
Thank you for sharing the music! I especially enjoyed Pokey LaFarge. I LOVE music festivals. I’m very disappointed we won’t be having Bumbershoot this year in Seattle.
A lovely selection of music Nicole – thanks for sharing – and glad you’ve had such gumboot fun.
I’m so happy that I’m singin’ la al la !!! Wow! thanks for the intro to Pokey Lafarge Nicole! And I’m la la la happy for you muckin about in the mud!! lol Gonna go check out the other two bands I’ve never heard! Gosh where have I been?! LOL !!! And Hoppy Easter!
Thanks for the music to blog by today