Don’t be blue this October

By Katie Wong Hoy

Docklands will be hosting a musical extravaganza this month for the annual Docklands Blues Music Festival.

The event is in its fourth year and will be produced by Wonderland Spiegeltent. And, this year, it is set to be bigger than before.

Organiser and Wonderland Spiegeltent owner, Melissa Head, said the festival would feature plenty of entertainment and offer something for all ages.

“We expect the festival to be bigger and better with more bands and more continuous music running throughout the day,” Ms Head said.

“The festival features something for all ages. The precinct is completely family-friendly and all the stages in the Harbour Town shopping precinct and Melbourne Star will be providing free entertainment.”

One of the acts serenading audiences on the day will be award-winning blues band, Dreamboogie.

Dreamboogie started in 2010 and have performed at the Docklands Blues Music Festival every year since 2011. They describe their music as a mix of contemporary rhythms and old-school blues.

Guitarist Sam Buckley said he had watched the event grow over the past four years.

“Each year it’s kind of grown and developed each time. Last year it really started to take off,” he said. “I think the first one had about nine bands now we’ve got around 22 so it’s double the bands.”

Connor O’Neill, who plays the bass for Dreamboogie, agrees. “It moved into the Spiegeltent last year and that was kind of the turning point really,” he said.

The event will be hosted in the striking Wonderland Spiegeltent and Fun Park in Harbour Town. There will be 12 hours of continuous entertainment and, best of all, it does not cost a cent to attend.

The headline act will be Chris Cain, an accomplished jazz musician from the USA. The festival will also feature a number of local bands and performers.

Kelly Auty is another one of the Melbourne artists who will be gracing the Spiegeltent stage.

She performed at the Blues Festival last year and thinks the venue will draw audiences to Docklands.

“Certainly I think the Spiegeltent is unique. I think people like to go to festivals because they meet up with like-minded people. People feel comfortable with it because they know what they are going to get,” Ms Auty said.

“I think Melbourne is brilliant. It’s got so much to offer artistically, musically, creatively and it’s an honour to be able to be involved.”

Mr Buckley said the Docklands Blues Music Festival was a showcase of Melbourne’s talent and could be enjoyed by everybody.

“We have a lot of the cream of Melbourne blues playing here – the best of the local artists – so it’s always an exciting event to see that,” he said.

“There’s kids here, there’s grand-parents here. It suits everyone. It’s going to be unreal!”

Ms Head said there would be plenty of music options with the entertainment spread across four stages.

“We want people to have plenty of options of stages so they can wander around and take in a different sounds, relax, have a bite to eat or grab a drink in a bar and have a dance,” she said.

The Docklands Blues Music Festival will run from 10.30am to 10.30pm on October 4.