Festival spirit captures Docklands

Music, cabaret, stand-up comedy, burlesque, art and film – Docklands is full of festival spirit.

As Docklands News went to print the Docklands Arts, Laughs and Blues Festival was kicking off.

Over five days, from October 1 a range of events will be taking place across Docklands, with the festival centred on Wonderland Fun Park’s “Salon de Elegance” spiegeltent.

And it’s at the spiegeltent that acclaimed musician Jimi Hocking will headline the Docklands Blues Festival on Sunday, October 5.

The free festival is the final event on the Arts, Laughs and Blues Festival calendar and will see 20 bands perform across five stages in the Harbour Town and spiegeltent precinct.

Jimi has been playing music professionally for more than 20 years, including with The Screaming Jets, and says the festival offers a great introduction to Melbourne’s blues scene.

“If people don’t know much about the blues it’s definitely a festival they should come and see because you’ll get to see a cross-section of the many different styles and varieties of blues there are,” he said.

And according to Jimi, plenty of great blues acts are lined up to perform at the festival including Hoodoo Men, Dreamboogie and up-and-coming blues band Blue Eyes Cry.

This year marks the third Docklands Arts, Laughs and Blues Festival, but it’s Jimi’s first time performing at the event.

So what can we expect from the headliner, who’ll be performing at Wonderland Fun Park’s “Salon de Elegance” spiegeltent?

“My shtick is somewhere between Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry in some ways,” Jimi said.

“I do a very electric-blues kind of show, but I like to pull out all the stops.”

“I grew up in a showbiz environment and it was essential in our learning as kids that you got up there and performed, so I’ve taken that ethic my whole life.”

The Docklands Blues Festival runs from 11am to 9pm on Sunday, October 5 at Harbour Town.

Headliner Jimi Hocking will be on stage at the spiegeltent from 8pm to 9pm.

The Docklands Arts, Laughs and Blues Festival runs from October 1 to October 5.

For more information see http://www.docklandsartsandlaughsfestival.com.au