Three days of Blues & Folk music!

FRIDAY 3 MAY
Felicity Lawless

SATURDAY 4 MAY
Brodie Buttons
Hashimotos Cactus
Adam Hole Band
The Whiskeys
The Soul Men

SUNDAY 5 MAY
Mel Scarlett
Tomi Gray
Trombone Kellie Gang
The Brilliant Pretenders

Welcome to the first day of the Open Road Blues & Folk Festival!

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Felicity Lawless stimulates the senses and elevates the soul with music fusing world, rock and folk elements. Her sound is characterised by a flashy, Spanish guitar style, soaring vocal melodies and hypnotic rhythms. She performs with an energy that elevates, inspires and infuses crowds with enthusiasm and joy.
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The biggest day of the festival. 5 live music acts, kicking off with a sensational solo performance and finishing with a great band to dance all night too. If you can’t make the whole festival at least get along to this huge day of Blues & Folk music.

Singing songs from the shearing shed to the scrub Brodie Buttons is gonna stare you down and hit you where it hurts. Collecting and composing songs for fifteen years now on his rusty banjo he’s been travelling up and down this country following work and the music hearing a bunch of great yarns to share with Yas all. Brodie is an authentic Australian character who lives and breathes folk music traditions in his daily life. With a voice rugged but sure, his songs distill an essence of our time and place that is too often lost to the hum of progress and modernity.
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Hashimoto’s Cactus hatched their music from a core of simple, yet complex, melody and rhythm. Featuring Stephen Lovelight, Michael DiCecco – the finger licking man on drums, and Hans Lovejoy – the super hands behind the bass.
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The Adam Hole Band is one of the country’s most exciting live acts on the circuit today and has evolved into a hard-rocking power trio in the true sense of the term. The energy and thought put into the arrangements ensure an audience is hooked from the first song to the last be it a Festival for thousands or a local venue. The band plays a mixture of powerful original blues-based songs and covers that have been worked into a style that is their own. They deliver songs with a powerful edge and an engaging stage chemistry that is captivating crowds from everywhere.
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‘The Whiskeys’ perfectly embody the essence of raw, high-octane rock ‘n’ roll. Their fusion of blues, rock, reggae, and funk creates a sonic experience reminiscent of legends like Led Zeppelin, with a modern twist that’s akin to the intensity of The Black Keys meeting the grit of Royal Blood. Benny Whiskey’s vocals and shredding guitar work, combined with Josh Larkin’s powerful drumming, form a musical powerhouse capable of igniting any venue, from festivals to intimate bars. Whether cranking it up to 11 and getting the crowd vibing or dialing it down to set the perfect mood, “The Whiskeys” have mastered the art of captivating audiences and leaving them in awe of their immense sound and infectious vibe.
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The Soul Men are more than a mere tribute to the Blues Brothers – they’re an electrifying soul, rhythm and blues experience. So if you’re looking to shake the cobwebs off in an exciting night of dancing, singing and high energy music, this is the show for you! Jake, Elwood and Sister Blues are backed by a powerhouse rhythm section and an electrifying brass section, and they’re on a mission to bring you the most immersive and authentic Blues Brothers experience you are ever likely to see. The Soul Men are a time-machine to a bygone era, where seeing a live band meant a good night out on the dance floor grooving along to music you can sing along to. You won’t find an act quite like this anywhere, so shake a tail feather and come catch them live! And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for their ‘77 Fairlane Bluesmobile.
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The final day of the festival.

Mel Scarlett has one of those soulful and sassy voices that bleeds like a sunset and grinds like a rusty wagon wheel. This raw and earthy soul sister belts out an incredible repertoire of music that will have you tapping your toes from beginning to end.
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Tomi Gray is a delightfully bizarre musician, writer and animator who lives in a tin shed full of gear and geckos on the Gold Coast of Australia. Since an unplanned departure in 2018 from his role, front-manning the touring rock n’ roll bands on which he cut his teeth, Tomi has been performing nightly at the infamous Draculas Cabaret while writing and demoing over 200 songs of his own. His third studio EP ‘Asthma’ is a more refined effort. Stripped back to his folkier influences, yet still not lacking that certain odd-ball charm of storytelling that has become an expected and much enjoyed element of all his creations.
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The straight talking, hip swinging, raw and raunchy blues of the Trombone Kellie Gang has proven to get the tiredest feet moving. Fronted by the infamous Trombone Kellie, whose gutsy vocal delivery and roots blues trombone playing feature alongside the ripping slide guitar of Scrubby Pete and the tasty rhythm section of Justin Pfeiffer (double bass) and Toby Baron (drums). This band as a three to five piece outfit have the perfect recipe for raucous Street Blues, made for the people and delivered with relish. They are Old School authentic, yet exciting, fresh and totally entertaining, featuring predominately Delta Swing and Country Blues styles, they’ve become a big hit with the the Jazz & Blues clubs from The Northern Rivers to The Sunshine Coast.
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Featuring well-known musicians Robbie Renfrew & Scrubby Pete the Brilliant Pretenders have been playing outstanding blues & soul music in pubs & clubs through the Northern Rivers and the Gold Coast for many years.