Top acts sign up for Rotorua Blues Fest

Hollie Smith will be the headline performer at the Blues Fest. Photo / George Novak

You might be singing the blues this Queen's Birthday weekend when the Rotorua Blues Festival begins, especially if you miss out.

Bay of Plenty Blues Club president Shay Dender said the free event, with headline performer Hollie Smith, was popular nationally, and he hoped lots of locals would get involved.

It begins on May 28 and finishes on June 2.

Blues musicians will perform at the Thursday Night Market, as well as at venues along Eat Streat.

He encouraged people to book tables on Eat Streat so as not to miss out on the many local, national and international acts to play at the festival, which also has a ticketed gig aboard the Lakeland Queen.

"Isaiah Brunt, I am really interested and looking forward to seeing him and meeting him. He is Samoan and he's lived in Sydney for 29-odd years, and he's performed music and blues all around Australia but hasn't performed in New Zealand for a long, long time. So I am really interested in working with him and seeing how the crowd enjoys him. He plays really old time blues stuff and I reckon he will be a highlight of the weekend."

Australian performer Isaiah B Brunt will lead a hands-on advanced workshop for students during the BOP Blues Festival.

Auckland band Recliner Rockers were also expected to be popular with crowds, he said.

"Recliner Rockers are always a big hit. Their bassist has got a big, stand-up black double bass with a horse's head on it, and he gets right out in the middle of the crowd and stands on it.

"They will be a huge crowd favourite."

The event would also showcase a lot of local talent, he said.

"We've got over 120 members in the club and we have large jam nights. There is a great big music community in Rotorua and blues is a big part of that. People are coming from as far as Australia. There's certainly some regulars from Auckland coming down and a big contingent from Gisborne coming up."

The festival also has workshops.

The programme can be found at www.bopblues.com/bluesfest.