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Andrea Marr

Multi-Award Winning Blues Vocalist and Songwriter
Owner/Director of Andrea Marr Music School

Andrea Marr is a multi-award winning Melbourne based blues and soul singer/songwriter. Previous bands include Andrea Marr Band 1999-2017 Andrea Marr & The Funky Hitmen 2012-2018. Currently Andrea performs as part of The McNaMarr Project and Urban Praise Gospel Choir. Andrea is also a vocal coach and has run her own music school in Melbourne Australia since 1996.
2020 Blues Music Victoria Hall of fame
Nominee
2019 Winner - Vic/Tas Blues Awards Album
Of The Year (McNaMarr Project Holla
& Moan)
2019 Winner - Vic/Tas Blues Awards Song
Of The Year (McNaMarr Project - Holla
& Moan)
2019 Semi Finalist International Blues
Challenge Memphis TN
(McNaMarr Project)
2019 Blues Music Victoria Hall of fame
Nominee
2018 Winner - Blues Performer Of The Year
(McNaMarr Project)
2017 #1 Album Australian Blues and Roots
Airplay Charts (Andrea Marr - Natural)
2017 #1 Album Roots Music Report Soul
Album Charts USA
2017 #1 Album Roots Music Report R&B
Album Charts USA
2013 Semi Finalist International Blues
Challenge Memphis TN (Andrea Marr
Band)
2012 Blues Performer Of The Year (Andrea
Marr Band)
2009 Australian Blues Music Award Female
Artist of The Year (Andrea Marr - Little
Sister Got Soul)
2009 Vic/Tas Blues Award - Female Artist Of
The Year (Andrea Marr - Little Sister
Got Soul)
2005 Blues Performer Of The Year (Andrea
Marr Band)
2002 Vic/Tas Blues Award - Female Artist Of
The Year
Discography:
2018 Holla and Moan The McNaMarr Project
2017 Natural - Andrea Marr (with the Funky
Hitmen)
2014 Live at the MBAS House Of Blues
Andrea Marr Band
2009 Little Sister Got Soul - Andrea Marr
2005 Watch Me Work It - Andrea Marr
2002 Sassified - Andrea Marr
1997 Inheritance - Andrea Marr

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Kier Stevens and Friends

A trio of tasty troubadours for your 2nd June Sunday sesh for free in the Tote front bar. A solo set each from alt-country amoré Sidney Rex, soul screamer Ebi Nori, and blues bastardiser Kier Stevens.

Matt Taylor

Matthew "Matt" Taylor (born 1948) is an Australian blues musician. He is best known for his work with long-lasting blues band Chain and for the hit song "I Remember When I Was Young".

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Loz Irwin-Ray

Loz Irwin-Ray is a Melbourne-based musician who specialises in voice, double bass, electric bass and piano.

Loz combines a love for creative expression and connection. She constantly strives to learn, understand and create a wide-variety of music. She finds herself rising to new creative challenges every day. Performing as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist in a number of Melbourne bands, she enjoys effortlessly jumping from one style to the next. Be it straight ahead jazz, earthy folk or free electronic improvisation, Loz maintains an honest, considered and heartfelt approach to her music.

Loz covers plenty of ground in the Melbourne music scene, working as a vocalist, double bassist, electric bassist, pianist, choir director, performer, composer/song-writer, educator, arranger, session musician and curator. She typically plays and writes in genres including folk, jazz, improvisation, blues, pop, funk and neo-soul.

Gwyn Ashton

In Sydney, Australia in the 80s Gwyn Ashton was one-time lead guitarist for Stevie Wright and Swanee and in the 90s he moved to Melbourne and played on two of The Masters Apprentices Jim Keays' solo albums. Ashton opened for Rory Gallagher, Junior Wells and various blues bands from the USA when they came to Australia. Asked by Billy Thorpe if Mick Fleetwood could sit in with his band, Ashton was instantly on the short list as lead guitarist with according to Mick's sound engineer "something big but we can't say who it is", but he was told to get his passport together! One can only imagine...

After relocating and playing the European circuit for three years by 2001 the now Virgin Records France recording artist Gwyn Ashton was nominated at third position as ‘Guitarist of The Year’ in Guitar Part Magazine. First and second positions were Jeff Beck and Gary Moore, fourth was Popa Chubby, fifth was Guns N Roses Izzy Stradlin. Ashton’s first gig in France was opening for Buddy Guy with ex Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on before Gwyn. Ashton questioned this and said 'we don't deserve to be on after Mick. It's the wrong way around' but the organisers insisted on this as his popularity in France had grown. Ashton then played the Paris Music Trade Show where Fender France presented him with a new Stratocaster.

With numerous worldwide radio appearances under his belt, in the '90s Ashton appeared live on a radio show in Kent, England with Bert Jansch. He played on a derelict Dutch train carriage on the pirate station Radio London in the Netherlands and networks in Australia including various ABC stations and public radio. He was also interviewed and played a live performance in France on Paris Inter.

Ashton then co-headlined Garden Blues Festival in Marseille with Robben Ford and on the bill with Ray Charles at Cognac Blues Passions. At this time Ashton had two of his albums simultaneously in the Amazon France Top 100 charts. He has played many guitar and blues festivals including two appearances at the Acoustic Festival of Great Britain, Popkomm in Berlin, Guitar Heroes Festival in Germany with Mick Taylor and has conducted blues masterclasses at London’s Guitar Institute, Guitar X and Academy of Sound in Birmingham and Exeter, England. Ashton also played the 10th annual ’Thanks Jimi’ Festival in Wroclaw, Poland onstage with Bernie Marsden and Jimi Hendrix’s brother Leon Hendrix, leading 8000 guitarists playing ‘Hey Joe’ in the market square setting a new ‘Guinness Book of World Records’.

For five years Ashton was Gerry McAvoy’s choice for fronting the Rory Gallagher celebratory group Band of Friends, replacing Thin Lizzy/Motorhead guitarist Brian Robertson. They headlined the first two Ballyshannon Rory Gallagher Festivals with members of The Dubliners opening for them. Rory’s brother Donal was taken aback by Ashton’s interpretation of his late brother’s guitar playing stating ‘I like the way you put your own slant on Rory’s music, you don’t just copy him’. The band consisted of Gerry, Lou Martin, Brendan O’Neill, Mark Feltham and Dennis Greaves, all who at the time played in the band Nine Below Zero. Gerry and Brendan played on Ashton’s ‘Fang It! album with Greaves producing it. The album received great reviews and won many awards for ‘Album of The Year’ in a host of magazines.

Italian guitar company Liutart then asked Ashton to design his own signature guitar which he uses to this day with the configuration based on his favourite classic guitars - Gibson Firebird, Danelectro and Fender Telecaster pickups. Ashton called this 'the ultimate slide guitar'.

Since then Ashton has been touring Europe with many acts including The Yardbirds, Johnny Winter, Peter Green, Slade, The Sweet, Canned Heat, Magnum, The Troggs and headlining his own shows. He has also played dates in England with Van Morrison, Robin Trower, Jeff Healey, Tony Joe White, Walter Trout and 15 arena shows, including Wembley, with the legendary Status Quo with Francis Rossi asking him about co-writing and Rick Parfitt wanting some slide guitar tips. Ashton has shared the bill twice with Joe Bonamassa, once at Birmingham NEC for Music Live and once at a guitar festival in Sweden. Ashton has performed at guitar shows appeared twice on Czech National TV, ZDF TV in Germany and in Bulgaria on Slavi's Show, Slavi being the 'Bulgarian Jay Leno' with an audience of two million. This coincided with Ashton's concert for the American Chamber of Commerce celebrating American Independence Day, 50 years of Bulgarian occupancy and the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster, the show being organised by Fender Bulgaria July 4 2004.

Three years running he played at Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey’s charity show near Cambridge, England with members of Whitesnake Bernie Marsden, Mickey Moody and Neil Murray, plus Uli John Roth, Robert Hart and Jimmy Page’s first choice for Led Zeppelin vocalist Terry Reid. Don has played on two of Ashton’s albums ‘Prohibition’ (alongside Chris Glen and Ted McKenna from Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Ian Gillan, Michael Schenker Group) and ‘Radiogram’ which also features guest appearances from Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds), Robbie Blunt (Robert Plant), Mark Stanway (Magnum, Phil Lynott’s Grand Slam) and Mo Birch (Robert Plant, Go West, Paul Rodgers, Culture Club). Ashton has recorded eight albums, some with special guests mentioned above.

Ashton has been invited onstage with some of the greatest blues and rock musicians including ex Black Crowes Marc Ford who also asked him to play lap steel on a studio session in Los Angeles. They also played three duo shows together. He jammed with Walter Trout, the legendary Canned Heat and Hubert Sumlin at blues festivals in England and Germany, bassist extraordinaire Jerry Jermott (BB King, Aretha Franklin) and Cactus and former Vanilla Fudge bassist Tim Bogert in Los Angeles and he even sat around David Crosby's dining room table trading licks on acoustic guitar with the former Byrd's legendary singer, songwriter. Jackson Browne and Robert Plant have both commented favourably on Ashton's playing and both been part of his audience. Ashton has even been known to sit around former Rainbow and Alcatraz singer Graham Bonnet in his living room, playing and singing Beatles songs together! He's also played with Steely Dan's Elliott Randal and former Jethro Tull's Mick Abrahams at a fund-raising show in England. Tull's former drummer Clive Bunker was Ashton's first UK drummer and Ashton played two shows with ex Rick Wakeman singer Gary Pickford-Hopkins.

During a tour of Spain, Ashton found himself jamming with former Wings drummer Geoff Britten who played on ‘Venus and Mars’. In Austin Texas, he was invited onstage with the hierarchy of the Austin scene including Derek O’Brien, Malford Milligan, Chris Duarte, Roscoe Beck and Frosty.

Eric Johnson’s bassist Chris Maresh joined Ashton on a 2018 German tour with Welsh drummer Chris Sharley from the 70s band Sassafrass. Budgie’s Burke Shelley gave Ashton a CD to learn their songs as they were possibly looking for a replacement guitarist at one stage. Shelley’s blues band opened for Ashton at a Christmas party at Tawe Delta Blues Club in Swansea, Wales. They were introduced by Dire Straits and Rockpile drummer Terry Williams.

Ashton’s first Czech Republic gig was with BB King at Golem Blues Festival, where he was the only other musician apart from King's entourage allowed in the dressing room prior to his

performance. Ashton has recorded nine albums, some with special guests mentioned above.

Gwyn Ashton’s critically-acclaimed release ‘Solo Elektro’ saw him reinvented as an alternative progressive blues-rock solo artist with elements of 60s garage rock, psychedelia, acoustic roots and some good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll influences. The follow-up power-duo album - 2019's Sonic Blues Preachers features ex Bon Scott Fraternity drummer John Freeman.

An inductee into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame for recognition of his contribution of sharing original Australian music with the world, Ashton's show is retro with a modern evolution as he crosses the boundaries between indie rock and the blues, mixing his electric set with acoustic lap side and steel-bodied resonator guitars along the way. His two-hour show takes his audience on an eclectic musical mesmerising story-telling journey, as he engulfs and engages them in a hypnotic musical adventure, showing music has no boundaries.

Julian James

Julian James has established a prominent presence in the Australian live music scene over numerous years. His shows combine authentic energy with sincere storytelling, delivering an engaging experience. Julian James embodies a fusion of high-energy Americana Hill Country blues, showcasing a mix of blues fervor, country allure, and contemporary style. With performances at major festivals nationwide, his show is a must-see.

And now, he hits the road in duo mode, with his vibrantly talented wife, Beck Kate on percussion and backing vocals.

“Emerging Blues Artist of the Year 2022”
— Australian Chain Awards
“‘Melbourne based singer, Julian James, is no stranger to the blues...blues, intertwined with the twang of country and the upbeat notes of more contemporary sound.’”
— Sophie Barker 'Forte Magazine'

The Caledonian Castaways

The Caledonian Castaways are a group of ex-pat Scot musicians from Melbourne. They perform their own songs of Scotland influenced by the blues and roots of the many bands they play with.

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Georgia Rodgers

Georgia Rodgers has fused her many years of playing and learning the guitar with an authentic vocal style.
Leaning into her dynamic guitar playing, she is slowly but surely developing a discography of music that abstains from the stereotypical verse, chorus, verse structure of song writing.

“I’m basically a singer/songwriter,” says Georgia, “but I am more-so taking people on a dynamic journey through a song. With more of an emphasis on a composition as opposed to your typical verse, chorus, verse.”.

Although evident in the music she has released and the live performances she has showcased, she admits that the sound she is creating is a work in progress.

“I’m still kind of finding what sound I want to put out there,” says Georgia, “I’m so much more comfortable behind a guitar than my vocals because I’ve always fallen back onto being a guitarist. I learnt guitar for a long time and then singing just became a part of it, so I depend heavily on that. I can write nice lyrics it’s just the way of how I can best suit that and include the work I’ve done as an instrumentalist as well.”

However, this journey to find a sound she is content with releasing and performing lends to the style of music she creates. The dynamic nature of her pursuit of establishing such a sound is also woven into her music with complexity. A process she pins down to experimenting with layering and ebbing and flowing between stripping a song down and building it up again.

“A lot of it is layering,” says Georgia “So I might play a song live that goes for eight minutes, and a lot of it is a little bit of atmospheric layering and it is kind of floaty and then the next song I might play might start with just the one note, the root note of the chord and then progress into playing the full chord.”

“It’s just stripping back and then including in other songs that layering to build that dynamic and then dropping it down and doing that to draw people in.”

When it comes to her compositions, she also places a significant importance on including any iota of a live resemblance or authenticity that might arise in a recording setting.

“I like a live-ish feel to my songs.” Says Georgia, “I’ve always been very particular in the recording. The next single I’m releasing I want to sound awesome, but if it’s not capturing that live element, I can’t see it as the song. I can see it as a good song, but without that live element, that’s not what I want.”.

In her most recently released single ‘Hold On’, the emphasis on replicating a live sound is abundant throughout the velvety and dreamlike near six minutes. Georgia iterates that minimising the number of vocal takes in conjunction with utilising a damaged guitar pedal resulted in the rich, dynamic and authentic sound.

“The last time I recorded I did one warm-up vocal take and then I did another one and finally one more and after that I was like ‘nup, that’s dead now’, that was the live one. If there is a note that is a bit off, or some element of it being quite live, authentic, or honest I don’t really care.

“So, the start of the song I recently recorded, I had bought this pedal from cash converters, and it was completely a piece of crap and I thought it was awesome. It was leaking battery acid. When I clicked it on it made this cool crackling, almost like a needle on a record sound.

“The engineer ended up asking me if I wanted to cut that out, but I was like ‘no way’. Instantly that was a sound that’s not the song, it was something that can be that authentic, you’re in the room feel. I think it’s hard conveying your songs in the studio.”

For her forthcoming gig at the Wesley Anne on Friday September 30, Georgia has pieced together an arrangement that is set to amplify her dynamic storytelling. A set that is due to fluctuate between a big band supporting her and individual renditions of songs.

“I’ve got a launch for that single ‘Hold On’ on Friday September 30 at the Wesley Anne in Northcote. I’m performing with a band, which I have never done, at least in a rehearsed setting. I’m going to have a few backing vocalists, a cello, a double bass, and a drummer, possibly with some piano too.”

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James Grim Woodcutters

James Grim fronted Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders – and lived to tell the tale. Just.

Over 11 years, Melbourne’s premier exponents of malevolent, punked-up blues/rockabilly, Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders, earned a reputation for their relentless touring and explosive live shows – and for playing as hard offstage as they did on it.

After literally working themselves into the ground, in 2016 the band’s firebrand frontman, James Grim, decided enough was enough. He pulled the pin on the band – and the lifestyle – that was killing him.

Now band-less and sober, Grim resolved he’d never play in a band again, but return to music for music’s sake. He took his hard-earned life lessons and experiences to his friend, award-winning country music songwriter Dan Waters, and began crafting new songs, cut from his signature raw lyrical honesty.

“Grim is once again pursuing songs of depth and sincerity (with) a bevy of dark-country tunes that feature some of the most evocative lyrics you’ll be hearing for some time”
— Adam Norris (BEAT Mag)
What emerged from those sessions became the template for a suite of dark country ballads that explored the awkward moments that lie within, and between, flawed humans. Grim explored these themes further with other songwriters he loves and respects, including Jamie Messenger and Frank Sultana.

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The McnaMarr Project

John McNamara & Andrea Marr joined forces in 2018 to become The McNaMarr Project, the sound of soulful blues.
2018 Blues Performer Of The Year
2019 Vic/Tas Blues Award Album Of The Year & Song Of The Year #2 Australian Blues & Roots Airplay Charts

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