Benz World Blog » Bass

John Gwilliam

Jason Benz — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 22:28:30 +0000

This is John Gwilliam from power trio 19-Twenty letting the animal out, on the Crossroads stage at Bluesfest 2024.

Imagine Wolverine learnt double bass, then drank all the crazy juice. To call his performance dynamic would not do it justice. You never know what will happen next. One minute he has lifted the whole double bass in the air while playing it behind his head like Buddy Guy, the next moment one of the Little Quirks has climbed on top of the bass and is singing up high, while he donks out the rhythm below. The show is a spectacle of physics defying controlled chaos created by a tight rock and roll groove machine set to overdrive.

19-Twenty is Australia’s answer to Jools Holland. They are both known to bring musicians together. This is encouraged at Bluesfest, the range of music lends itself to jamming. Peter Nobel (the guy who picks the artists at Bluesfest) once told me he chooses bands that make music with people, not computers. You will not find lip-syncing and backing tracks at Bluesfest. You will find a whole lotta people celebrating the raw energy of live music. 19-Twenty will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: In 2026 Bluesfest will be the last in a line of major festivals closed from increasing headwinds. This began before covid, with the previous state government’s legislative “war on festivals“. The new government risks letting this trend continue through inaction. However, you can change this. If 20,000 signatures are received, the NSW Parliament must debate Bluesfest’s future. #savebluesfest if you live in the state Sign up here. For everyone else, there is an international petition on change.org Sign up here.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. 19-Twenty will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Byron Bay Bluesfest 2026
1st artist reveal

19 Twenty

Jason Benz — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 01:19:56 +0000

This is power trio 19-Twenty on the Delta stage at Bluesfest 2023. Imagine a mix of ZZ Top and The White Stripes with an Aussie twist. Like Jimi Hendrix, the band is built around the considerable guitar skills of lead singer, Kane Dennelly. Also like Hendrix, the role of the bass and drums should not be underestimated, John Gwilliam and Jeremy Berg do an excellent job of taking already powerful grooves and pushing them into overdrive. As well as giving the guitar room to shine, they can each take the lead. The chance to see a double bass solo should not be missed. When these “Masters of the Riff” are not banging out high-energy electric blues with a folk edge to cheering crowds, they have produced a chilled Sunday arvo studio number with what can only be called an Australian Supergroup, teaming up with Lachy Doley and Hussy Hicks to record What A Night. (image download here). It is great to hear that 19-Twenty has been confirmed for the 2024 festival. There are rumours of guest musicians appearing at that performance.

UPDATE: 19-Twenty will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. 19-Twenty will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Byron Bay Bluesfest 2026
1st artist reveal

The Wailers

Jason Benz — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 15:25:12 +0000

2022 saw the return of Reggae Royalty to Bluesfest. The Wailers closed the Delta stage on the final day of music. They are such a common sight on Bluesfest stages that they risk being taken for granted. Make no mistake, they are all reggae legends and it is a privilege to watch them play.

To say they captured the original ’70s sound is an understatement. Never has a band produced a more faithful live performance, of the original recordings. Close your eyes and you will think Bob Marley had come back to life.

I know of no other group who can fly halfway around the world, play for 90mins to any festival audience, most of which are younger than the tunes, and still have the crowd sing along to every song.

The crowd then called them back for 3 encore songs. First, they chilled the tempo with Redemption Song and the crowd responded by holding lighters in the air (but this is 2022, so most were phone lights) Then they played One World, One Prayer from their latest album which was quickly followed by Could You Be Loved, at which point the crowd erupted and five thousand people jumped in the air and began to move as one.

The Wallers released their first new album in 25 years. I have downloaded some tunes to help me get over the end of live music at Bluesfest for another year.

Next year’s festival tickets will soon be available from the Bluesfest website.

This image is available for download here.

UPDATE: The Wailers will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Crowded House

Jason Benz — Sun, 17 Apr 2022 16:04:42 +0000

This is Nick Seymour and Liam Finn, along with his dad, Neil Finn, are part of the reformed Crowded House. They played to a packed tent on the Crossroads stage at Bluesfest 2022. When it comes to headliners they don’t get much bigger. With 35-years of songs that are embedded in our collective psyche, The band could not miss. The masters of melody played hit after hit as the crowd sang along. (image download here)

UPDATE: Crowded House will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. Discounted early bird tickets for the 2026 festival are available here.

Cuban Music

Jason Benz — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 11:25:44 +0000

The music of Cuba is exceptional. History has made it unique. We found it in every city in the cafes, bars and on the streets. Being a musician in Cuba is considered a profession worthy of a wage from the government. I grew up in the UK where being a musician was considered a lack of profession. In 2013 Sony looked to the Caribbean for music. In 2014 a delegation from Sony visited the Cuban state owned record label with an offer of world distribution for the island’s national music archive. This week’s announcement confirmed global licensing of 30,000 songs dating back to 1964.

Split Toning was used to process this image in Camera RAW. I used the settings from this shot as it has become the most popular one from Bluesfest 2015.

The Joynt

Jason Benz — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 14:53:53 +0000

Since we moved to Australia we have seen lots of great music by chance. Last night was the first time we made a trip to see a particular band. This is The Barons of Tang playing at the Joynt in Brisbane Queensland. We first saw them at a festival in Adelaide and were blown away by their style of high octane gypsy ska. We met the band this time and Karen got a signed CD.

Jazz Festival

Jason Benz — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 00:58:26 +0000

This is Emma Hamilton who was performing today at the Broadbeach Jazz Festival in Queensland, Australia. Broadbeach regularly puts on free music festivals including Blues, Country, Jazz and Opera to attract people to the Gold Coast.