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The Blues is Life.
-Brownie McGhee
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(image: Jack Venables)

“The future of blues is secure” - Blues Blast Magazine (US)

“A well-oiled soul-machine” – Blues Magazine (Netherlands)

"Impressively accomplished... Blues Arcadia exudes all-round excellence" - Tony Hillier, Weekend Australian Review

"This is what a 21st century blues band should sound like - a howling celebration of what it is to make music now"
- Mark Doherty, Nothin' But The Blues, 4ZZZ 102.1FM

"Damn good songwriting across a range of styles, allied to some quality musicianship from all concerned."
- Iain Cameron, Blues Matters Magazine (UK)

"A highlight of the performance is the interplay between main songwriters Alan Boyle and guitarist Chris Harvey" 
- COURIER MAIL QWeekend

“Make sure you see them.” - SCENESTR Magazine

Three-time Australian Blues Music Award winners and Australian Roots Music Award nominees Blues Arcadia combine the legendary soul of Stax and Motown with the heat and power of the Chicago and Memphis blues to create a unique dirty-soul sound delivered with swagger, style, and sensitivity.

The band made a huge impact with their debut album Carnival Of Fools (2019) with 4.5 stars from The Australian Weekend Review, 5 stars from the Sunday Mail, a #5 debut on the AIR Independent Charts and a #1 debut on the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay Charts, and have since brought their energetic and authentic live show across the country to festivals and venues everywhere from far North QLD to Adelaide.

Now the dynamic Brisbane five-piece have taken things to a whole new level, recently unleashing their killer second album Now Or Never with fresh forays into funk and jazz, while never straying too far from their grounding in the blues. Keys player Paula Girvan brings the jazz, while the longstanding rhythm section of bassist Jeremy Klysz and drummer Casper Hall brings the funk. Guitarist Chris Harvey fuses the fluency of Stevie Ray Vaughan with the more traditional blues stylings of the “Three Kings” (Albert, Freddie and B.B.), yet his playing sounds thrillingly contemporary. Frontman Alan Boyle sings it like he lives it, wrenching every last drop of sweat, passion and emotion from lyrics that speak to direct experience.

Blues Arcadia are five strong individual personalities working together to create something uniquely exciting. It’s almost impossible to choose which of them to watch and engage with during a show, where each player directs their energy into the most important thing – the Song, making it the best it can be. That is the power of Blues Arcadia.

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