I GUESS THAT'S WHY
They call it the Blues By Melissa Walsh
G
rowing up in Sorrento surrounded by music, Patrick Elliget was destined to do something important for the art that he admires so much. An anaesthetic technician by day, the peninsula local put his love of the blues, in particular, out there in 2014 when he created the Mornington Peninsula Blues Sessions - a series of live boutique blues events showcasing some of this country's leading exponents of the blues in an intimate theatrelike environment of the Peninsula Community Theatre in Mornington. Now the go getter has ramped it up a notch, creating the first ever Peninsula Blues Festival, held this February 9 at the Mornington Racecourse.
E ssence
14 | PENINSULA
February 2019
“I grew up in a musical family; my parents were Walter and Mary; dad was a jazz musician playing trumpet and piano, and the church organist playing the organ at the Sorrento church for years. Mum and dad had ten kids and dad was a hard working plumber. My brothers and I even had our own family jazz band and I was the drummer. Our house was always alive with music,” said Patrick, who has continued the family traditions with his two grown up daughters who are both musically inclined. “Cassie sings in a Brazilian jazz band, while Kate is also very into her singing and dancing.” Always having to drive to the city or other regional areas to see his favourite musical genre was the catalyst for starting the blues sessions and now the blues festival. continued next page...