Welcome back to Winter Blues
Welcome to the Winter Blues Festival, four music-filled days of connection, creativity and community spirit that transform our towns.
Whether you’re visiting for the first time or returning for your 26th festival, we’re delighted you’re here.
What began in 1999 as a small community event has grown into something truly remarkable.
In a challenging festival landscape, Winter Blues has remained strong for 26 festivals thanks to our community, volunteers and loyal blues fans.
The closing of Byron Bay’s iconic Bluesfest is a reminder of how special that achievement is, and we’re proud that Winter Blues now stands as Australia’s longest-running blues festival and one of the largest.
The magic of Winter Blues has never been just about the music.
It’s about discovering your new favourite artist, catching up with old friends, making
new ones, supporting local businesses, sharing great food, and enjoying the unique atmosphere that brings our twin towns to life each winter.
There’s plenty to discover across the festival, including some favourite annual traditions.
Be sure to visit the all-inclusive, family-friendly Sherridon Homes Family Space, where you can enjoy live music, face painting, arts and crafts, a jumping castle, and beanbag seating thanks to Pop & Pour.
Stop by the Winter Blues merchandise van outside Port Ice Creamery for your 2026 merchandise, this year’s collectible drum-kit pin, and a raffle ticket to win one of two handcrafted cigar guitars.
Download the Winter Blues App for schedules, artists and venue information.
Printed program grids are also available from the merchandise van.
As you explore, don’t miss the famous Guitar Treasure Hunt, featuring decorated
guitars displayed in the windows of our supporter businesses.
Look for the Proud Supporter posters, or visit winterblues.com.au to view all of our supporters, and wherever possible, support the businesses that help make Winter Blues possible.
WINTER BLUES AT THE RACES
FRIDAY 24 JULY
Your insights help us continue to evolve in ways that are meaningful to our patrons, artists and community.
If you or your business would like to support the future of Winter Blues through sponsorship, donations or partnerships, we’d love to hear from you at partnerships@winterblues.com.au
As I reflect on my fourth festival as chair, I’m incredibly grateful for the people who make Winter Blues possible.
At the conclusion of this year’s festival, I will proudly hand the baton to Laura Graham, knowing the festival’s future is in very capable hands.
Our sincere thanks go to our supporters, venues, artists, emergency services, community partners and volunteers, whose generosity and commitment make this festival possible.
Before you head home, please complete our festival survey.
Until then, I ask you to look after one another.
Be kind, respectful and safe, and enjoy this remarkable festival.
Tell your friends, bring them back next year, and thank you for loving Winter Blues as much as we do.
While we’re gathering across this beautiful Yorta
Yorta Country to share music, stories and connection, we acknowledge that these traditions have been woven into this landscape for thousands of generations.
We honour the First Custodians of this land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Enjoy the music, discover something new, have fun, and let’s come together to beat the winter blues.
Warm regards,
-Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival chairperson
Laurelin Berick
▯ This event is supported by the Victorian Government through the Regional Events Fund. We thank all our sponsors and supporters, with special recognition of the long-standing commitment of Moama Bowling Club, Campaspe Shire Council, Murray River Council, Echuca Moama Accommodation Association, Sherridon Homes and Rich River Golf Club.
as real as it gets
On Friday 24 July, the Winter Blues Race Day at Echuca is as real as it gets!
Kick off the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival with a day full of heart-pounding races and incredible live blues performances. It’s a celebration of music, excitement, and community - all rolled into one unforgettable event.
LIVE BLUES MUSIC
12:00PM Pete Campbell & The Lazy Dog
2:00PM Sweet Felicia and The Honeytones
4:00PM Jimi Hocking’s Blues Machine FREE SHUTTLE BUSES
Starting from 10:45am and will continuously loop. Moama pick-ups from The Border Inn Moama & Moama Bowling Club
Echuca pick-ups from opposite the Echuca Hotel & The Caledonian Hotel.
The last shuttle departs at 6PM.
General Admission from
Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival chairperson Laurelin Berick celebrates the festival’s 26th year with music, community spirit and local support.
Photo: Jordan Townrow
Police commend festival safety
By Jaci Hicken
Victoria Police Campaspe Local Area Commander Inspector Brett Sampson has praised the organisers of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, highlighting the strong working relationship between emergency services and the festival committee in delivering a safe event for the community.
Insp Sampson said the committee’s approach to safety planning had been a standout feature of this year’s preparations.
“I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the Winter Blues committee in planning and delivering what will undoubtedly be another highly successful community event,” he said.
“Their professionalism, collaboration and attention to detail have been evident throughout my involvement in the planning process. “Of particular note is the committee’s disciplined and proactive approach to prioritising community safety.
“By ensuring safety considerations remained at the forefront of decision-making, the committee has developed an event that will not only
be enjoyable and engaging for attendees, but also safe and well managed.”
Insp Sampson said the collaboration between the committee and key partners, including Ambulance Victoria and the CFA, had been central to the event’s planning.
“Through close collaboration with key partners and a steadfast commitment to embedding safety into all planning and operational decisions, the committee has successfully balanced providing an exceptional experience for attendees with the responsibility of maintaining a safe environment,” he said.
Insp Sampson thanked everyone involved for their hard work, leadership and dedication to the event and the community.
“This is yet another example of an exceptional group of people doing extraordinary things for our amazing community,” he said.
The strong collaboration between emergency services and the festival committee, including Ambulance Victoria and the CFA, has ensured a safe and well-managed Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival. Pictured are members of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival committee, emergency services and the community at Echuca Police Station.
Photo: Jordan Townrow
Down-to-earth rock ’n’ roll
By Jaci Hicken
Salt & Steel are a duo who describe their sound as ‘earthy rock ‘n’ roll’, drawing comparisons to The White Stripes and Florence and the Machine.
The pair have built a following through high-energy performances at festivals including Woodford Folk Festival and Party in the Paddock, and have earned support slots for artists including Wolfmother, Wheatus, Pete Murray and Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon.
Vocalist and guitarist Briony Edgar said the band’s origins were rooted in a shared love of music and travel.
“Salt & Steel came about when we met; we are partners, we brought a van together and just started travelling, going to music festivals and we just had this huge love of music,” Briony said.
“I started playing open mics, with Elle by my side, and then we really embraced the music scene.
“Elle bought a drum kit
Salt & Steel, a duo with an ‘earthy rock ‘n’ roll’ sound, have gained popularity through energetic performances at festivals.
and we just kind of went for it.”
Briony said early competition wins helped launch their festival career.
“There were a couple of competitions we won early on, and they gave us some recording packages, and we got to play at our first festival, and then it kind of went from there.”
The duo is preparing to release new material, beginning with a cover.
“We are doing a cover, releasing a cover of Never Tear Us Apart on July 24, which is when we are in Echuca,” Briony said.
“Then a couple of weeks
after that, we start our release for our EP.”
The five-track EP release begins in August, with the first original single already named.
“We are not going to release the name for our EP quite yet, but the first single for it is called the Rules of the River,” Briony said.
“We have been working on these songs for quite a while, and we are just so excited to get new music out.”
The band is returning to the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival in 2026 after a positive first experience
& Steel are set to release new material, starting with a cover of ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ on July 24, followed by a five-track EP in August.
last year.
“Our first show was on an outdoor stage, I think in a park; it was raining and cold, but it was also so much fun and we had a great audience,” Briony said.
She also named several acts she was looking
forward to seeing at the festival, including Corey Legge and the Legacy and Kathleen Halloran.
“I have not seen them before, but I know Corey as a musician and I’ve seen him in some other projects and I am a big fan,” Briony said.
“He is a great guy and great musician, so I am definitely looking forward to finding out what his project is about.
“Frank Sultana, he is just an absolute legend, and we have seen him over the years and if you love the blues, he is incredible.
“Kathleen Halloran, I am very keen to catch some of Kathleen.”
Looking ahead, the duo has dates at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music and shows in WA later in the year.
“We love putting on a high-energy show,” Briony said.
“We are definitely a bit of music for any misfits around.
“Come and have a fun, easy time with us.
“We just love to let loose on stage, and that is what we are about.”
Salt & Steel play Winter Blues: Friday, July 24 at the American Hotel at 3.30pm. Saturday, July 25 at the Star Hotel at 9pm.
The Riv chats with Echuca Moama Winter
By Jaci Hicken
The Riv talks… podcast has done a deep dive into the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, starting with chats from 2025 featuring 19-Twenty lead singer and guitarist Kane Dennelly and Nathan Cavaleri.
This was followed by conversations with Geoff Achison,
Cass Eager, Frank Sultana and Kathleen Halloran.
These artists have played the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival multiple times and were asked what keeps bringing them back, about their influences, what they have been up to and what we could expect from their festival set?
In this The Riv talks...
episode, an Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival 2025 retrospective, Kane Dennelly talks about how the festival launched the band into the Victorian festival scene.
“The first one we played, I think we did six three-hour gigs, which is something that we’ve never done,” he said.
“Actually, we did it the year after, but it’s something we’d
never done to that point, and it’s madness.
“I’ll never do it again, but it put us in front of a lot of people.”
Nathan Cavaleri finds the festival has its own magic, playing solo shows in the past that “bang pretty hard”.
“I would say my set is probably even more bluesy than what the studio recordings
are, because the production and all the different sounds that take it somewhere else,” he said.
Geoff Achison is looking forward to his solo show at the Echuca library as part of the 2026 festival, he tells the podcast.
“Because it is a library, it is a listening environment and perfect for sitting there with
Photos: Contributed
Salt
Legend returns
By Jaci Hicken
Geoff Achison has been playing guitar since he was 13, starting out in his father’s dance band before discovering the music that would define his career.
“Music was a big smorgasbord that I was discovering all this different stuff,” he said.
The turning point came when someone played a record at a gig during a break.
“They put this record on; it was John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers,” Geoff said.
“I just flipped on the sound of Eric Clapton’s guitar, which was very raw.
“I decided within the first four bars that is what I want to do.”
That discovery sent him deep into the history of the blues.
He traced the music back through BB King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and eventually to the Mississippi Delta players such as Robert Johnson and Son House.
“I was almost like a little hermit, where I refused to listen to any other form of music,” he said.
“I immersed myself in it, probably for a good 10 years, just to really try to understand it and speak the language.”
His first trip to the United States came in 1993.
“It was like a pilgrimage,” he said.
“We were all crazy about American blues music and really wanted to see it up close in its natural habitat.”
During that trip, friends encouraged him to sit in at clubs, and the group won a talent competition at a Memphis blues club.
He returned in 1995, then again in 1997, and from that point on began touring the US, the UK and Europe every year until 2019.
Geoff is a celebrated figure at the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, having been involved since its early days.
“I’ve seen it grow from a fledgling sort of idea where we all had to bring our own PA systems the first couple of years, because there was simply no budget for that,” he said.
“Seeing it grow from that to what it is now has been really, really gratifying.”
This year, he is bringing the Soul Diggers and performing a solo acoustic show at the Campaspe library.
“The library is really a listening environment and perfect for sitting there with the acoustic guitar and playing some tunes and telling some stories,” he said.
“Whereas the Soul Diggers, we turn up and rock out, so that is a very different vibe.”
He also encouraged festival-goers to catch fellow performers Kathleen
Blues Festival artists on podcast
the acoustic guitar, playing some tunes and telling some stories,” he said.
“Whereas, The Soul Diggers, we turn up and rock out, so that is a very different vibe.”
In the next episode, Cass Eager talks about the festival having its own personality
“I don’t know of any other festivals that I go to and play that are mid-winter and it is just
such a beautiful setting.”
“It is a co-ordinated effort by the whole town to bring it alive; you hear music playing in the streets, in the venues, and it is wonderful.”
It is more than likely you will find Frank Sultana having a coffee and ‘a bit of a catch-up’ with his fellow blues artist at the festival.
“There is something really
nice about playing in venues in the town, walking around town; the whole town becomes quite alive from it,” he told the podcast.
“There is no missing that there is a festival on; everyone’s very engaged and it is just fun.”
In the last episode, which focuses on the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival for 2026, Kathleen Halloran feels
right at home with all her blues friends.
“Love the festival, I love the people who organise it, and they feel like family,” she said.
“It’s a whole weekend of music, every single corner of Echuca, it’s just buzzing with blues, and all my peers playing.”
▯ You can find all The Riv talks… podcasts at riverineherald.com.au/podcasts
Halloran, Ray Beadle and Eddie and the Exciters.
“Ray is one of those players; if you haven’t seen him before, you absolutely must, as he is one of the best guitar players on the planet,” he said.
After three decades of playing almost exclusively his own material, Geoff said he was now embracing a broader range of projects, including playing lead guitar for a band called Stars, the Blues Guitar Road Show and an Ormond Brothers band show.
“It is almost like every week is a different repertoire to learn,” he said.
“Initially, I was quite daunted by that, because I’d only ever played my music for three decades, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it.
“But now, I’m just loving it; if there is a set of tunes I need to learn, I’m like, bring it on.”
Geoff Achison plays Winter Blues: Sunday, July 26 at Campaspe library, Echuca at 2pm
Geoff Achison and the Soul Diggers play Winter Blues: Saturday, July 25 at the Dungula Events Centre at 6pm Sunday, July 26 at the American Hotel at 5pm
Scan the QR code to listen to The Riv talks... podcast, starting with the chat with blues-roots singer-songwriter Geoff Achison.
Geoff Achison tells a story during his performance at Hopwood Gardens at the 2023 Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival.
Geoff Achison started playing guitar at 13 and was inspired by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, particularly Eric Clapton’s raw sound.
Photo: Contributed
Cass Eager Kathleen Halloran Geoff Achison
From Murray to Memphis
By Jaci Hicken
Frank Sultana has been releasing original blues music since 2011, with about 15 albums to his name.
“I’ve been putting out about one a year,” he said.
“Original blues from the east coast. Been sort of working pretty hard up and down the east coast over that time, touring pretty extensively.”
The turning point came in 2023 when Frank travelled to Memphis to compete in the Memphis International Blues Challenge.
“I was fortunate enough to win that event in the solo duo category,” he said .
“That’s kind of lifted my profile quite a bit, and so since 2023 I’ve come back to the (United) States four times and played festivals and things like that.”
He has since collected five Sydney Blues Society Music Awards, including Best Songwriter, Best Traditional Blues, Artist’s Choice and Artist of the Year for 2023 and 2024.
His roots in the music run deep.
“When I was younger, my parents’ record collection was predominantly American 50s rhythm and blues, and a lot of that was recorded at Sun
Studio in Memphis,” he said.
“Growing up it was Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Carl Perkins, that was kind of what I grew up on.”
He later discovered pre-World War II Mississippi Delta music, which became the foundation of his sound.
Frank won the Sydney Blues Challenge in July 2022, earning him entry to the Memphis competition in January 2023.
“I was already pretty established before that, as I’d been playing the blues since 2011,” he said.
“But I think going over there certainly raised my profile everywhere, because blues societies from all around the world keep up with who wins.”
He is currently booking a Canadian tour, which he says has been considerably easier to arrange than it would have been a few years ago.
His Ghosts of Sun album, recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis days after his International Blues Challenge win, spent six months in the Australian Blues Roots Radio Airplay Charts.
His 2024 album, Have Band Will Travel, released in September,
peaked at number two on the same charts and remains in the top 10.
Frank is returning to the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, having first played it in 2017.
“It is a very enjoyable festival, and very, very Melbourne-centric,” he said.
“I like that it is venues in the town, the whole town becomes quite alive from it.”
He will be bringing his band this year, featuring drums, bass and guitar, though the lineup is still being finalised.
“I love seeing the Melbourne cats, Sammy Owen and all those guys,” he said, adding he was also looking forward to catching Pete Campbell and the Lazy Dog from Sydney and The Honey Badgers from Adelaide.
Frank Sultana plays Winter Blues:
Thursday, July 23 at Antonio’s Pizza at 7pm
The Frank Sultana Blues Band play Winter Blues:
Friday, July 24 at Henry’s Bridge Hotel at 8.30pm Saturday, July 25 at the American Hotel at 8pm
Frank Sultana, an Australian blues musician, has been releasing original blues music since 2011, with about 15 albums to his name. Photo: Contributed
Rock ’n’ roll fusion on way
By Jaci Hicken
Kathleen Halloran is a Melbourne-based guitarist, singer-songwriter and composer who has spent years performing on stages and recording in studios across the country.
With a debut album on the way, Kathleen has built a reputation on musical authority, stage presence and technical skill on the guitar.
Her new single, Wolves Like You, was written with Adelaide-based collaborator Dusty Lee Stephensen.
“This song is a celebration,” Kathleen said.
“It’s a song of quiet power and resilience of other women in the business, and it touches on, obviously, I’m a female guitarist.
“We’re rare.
“There aren’t many of us, although that’s changing rapidly.
“And this song is a little bit about the stereotypes that women in the business come across, and the overarching message of this song is that I’m here for music, and I just want to make music, and I hope that comes
through with this song.”
Kathleen is clear the song is not a grievance.
“I’ve had a privileged journey with the most incredible men around me, supporting me and lifting me up as well,” she said.
“So, it’s just the 1 per cent to 2 per cent that stick, and that’s what this is about.”
The single arrived ahead of her debut album, Nobody’s Baby, released on May 8, 2026.
The album was produced by Roscoe James Irwin and recorded with a live band in the studio.
Kathleen spent her first 15 years as a professional musician working as a hired guitarist across multiple projects.
In the past year, she shifted her focus to her own original work.
“You can end up on tour and all of a sudden six months have gone by and you still haven’t completed those cycles with the album,” she said.
“So, it has been about a three-year process, but I have had the same creative team the whole time.
“Given my background of
best-performing grass for Aussie backyards Ideal for kids and dogs
working in so many different and colourful music environments, there are a lot of different genre influences throughout it, but if I had to give it a genre, I’d say rock and roll.”
This will be Kathleen’s third appearance at Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, after performing in 2024 and 2025.
“It’s like a whole weekend where every single corner of Echuca is just buzzing with blues,” she said.
“I tend not to think about music too much in genre, other than if I had to give myself something, I’d say my music is rock and roll.
“I mean, there are so many elements of rock and roll that are the blues as well, so I definitely feel right at home amongst all my blues friends.”
Kathleen Halloran plays Winter Blues: Saturday, July 25 at Campaspe Libraries, Echuca at 11.45am Saturday, July 25 at Henry’s Bridge Hotel at 8.30pm Sunday, July 26 at the Echuca Hotel at 3.30pm
Kathleen Halloran, a Melbourne-based guitarist and singersongwriter, released her debut album ‘Nobody’s Baby’ on May 8, 2026.
Photo: Contributed
Big day of racing and fun
By Matthew Kappos
Echuca Racing Club will again play its part in the Winter Blues festivities, hosting a packed day of racing and entertainment.
The Echuca Racecourse, at the corner of Scott Rd and the Murray Valley Hwy, will hold an eight race slate on Friday, July 24.
Gates will open at 11.30am, with racing getting under way at around 1pm.
Alongside the usual pageantry of race day, three blues artists are scheduled to keep the crowd entertained and add a new element to the festival weekend.
Pete Campbell and The Lazy Dog will perform from noon to 1.30pm, Sweet Felicia and The Honeytones from 2pm to 3.30pm, and Jimi Hockings’ Blues Machine from 4pm to 5.15pm
Sweet Felicia, one of Australia’s most respected blues bass players and vocalists, is a regular at the Winter Blues race day feature, finding the
day a great day to “play up a bit”.
“The music and the horse racing kind of goes really well together and we are considerate of each other,” she said.
“I love the vibe and because the whole town becomes involved, there is just a different vibe to the festival; it just becomes you and is really welcoming.”
A limited free ticket allocation was available, but has been exhausted, with general admission starting from $15.
Pavilion dining packages start from $65 per head, including a special Winter Blues menu.
Tickets are available at country.racing.com/echuca or at the gate on the day.
A free shuttle service will run to and from the ground, with pickup points at the Border Inn and Moama Bowling Club in Moama, as well as opposite the Echuca Hotel and Caledonian Hotel in Echuca.
Buses begin from 10.45am, with the final service leaving the track at 6pm.
Echuca Racing Club will host a day of racing and entertainment as part of the Winter Blues festivities on Friday, July 24. The event will feature an eight-race slate starting at around 1pm, with gates opening at 11.30am. Pete Campbell and The Lazy Dog will play from noon.
Photos: Contributed
Sweet Felicia and the Honeytones.
Vibrant guitar designs unite
By Jaci Hicken
The Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival is a beloved community celebration,
and at the heart of it all is a colourful guitar decorating competition that gets everyone involved.
Many of the guitars were
lovingly painted by children taking part in winter holiday activities at the Echuca library during the July school holidays.
Each year, about 100 vibrant cut-out guitars are entered into the competition, with ribbons awarded to the standout entries
before they are proudly displayed in retail stores across the historic Port area.
Everyone is encouraged to take part in a treasure
hunt during the
and explore the
ulous guitar displays for yourself.
Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival,
fab-
The Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival features a popular guitar decorating competition that engages the community.
Photos: Jordan Townrow
Sybilla Knowles-Mulholland loves a dot painting.
Eden Nuutinen’s guitar is all lines.
Quinn Knowles-Mulholland is all smiles.
Amelia Guinea is having fun with paint.
Arthur Cavallaro’s guitar masterpiece.
Archer Roberts added some guitar tradition to his artwork.
Donny Walker master piece in red.
Sebastian Roberts’ attention to detail in paint.
Olivia and Isobel Frazer work’s of art.
‘I just play blues for fun’
-Howlin’Wolf
