Blues better than ever

The Wignalls Vintage Blues Music Festival hasn’t made it to its 15th year for no reason.

The annual eight-hour festival showcasing all things jazz and blues has become a major drawcard for some of the best acts in the country – and last Saturday’s show was no exception.

About 2500 people came from as near as the Albany CBD and as far as overseas to catch the impressive line-up in the flesh.

Kicking off proceedings at 2pm were Fremantle indie rockers San Cisco. Channelling Vampire Weekend in their early days and neatly showing off the unique vocals of frontman Jordi James, the quartet with Scarlett Stevens on drums provided the perfect beginning to an eventful evening.

Lap slide guitarist Andrew Winton then made his mark on the Wignalls stage, delighting the crowd with his blues/jazz infusions and improvising scat when his guitar amp failed.

The Sun Orchestra picked up the pace with a more electric rock sound, later carried on by the Nick Barker Band, with the lead singer taking a moment to go acoustic and present a song dedicated to his young son.

It was Adam Hall and the Velvet Playboys who saw the sun go down and had everyone on their feet, dancing to the best the golden era of jazz has to offer.

The charismatic Hall and his talented band left electricity in the air and a smile on everyone’s face when they made way for Australian song-writing legend Daryl Braithwaite.

The former Sherbet frontman delivered such hits as The Horses, One Summer and Howzat to an enthusiastic crowd brushing up on their karaoke skills with hands in the air.

And as night well and truly hit, so too did Jake and Elwood. The Blues Brothers Revue, direct from America for their first ever Australian tour, introduced themselves to “this wonderful little corner of the world”, with Elwood quipping, “We had to come to Australia so Jake could drive.”

In a show faithfully reconstructing the classic 1980 film, the two brothers from Chicago played hits such as Gimme Some Lovin’, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love – and of course, had everyone shaking a tail feather.

The theme from Rawhide, Aretha Franklin’s Respect and Shout, the 1959 song from The Isley Brothers, very nearly brought the house down.

Local group The Moondog Project capped off the evening with their carefully crafted tunes.

Wignalls owner Rob Wignall declared the night “sensational” and admitted he was unsure %how to match it for next year’s event.

“The Blues Brothers were above my expectations,” he said. “They were absolutely brilliant.”

With lights off at midnight, the Wignalls Vintage Blues Festival’s loyal band of followers — and its new fans — were left eagerly awaiting 2012.

Got a story? Email liz.newell@albanyadvertiser.com