Keeping alive the ambience of March’s hit GosBlues Festival, Hotel Gosford and Central Coast Newspapers have joined forces to present a new monthly First Fridays Blues and Roots evening of quality acoustic Blues, Jazz & Roots. Kicking it off, fresh from the National Folk Festival, will be the Hunter’s Yoda of ragtime guitar, Chris Cady, followed by First Friday’s resident band BluesAngels.
Chris Cady plays Ragtime Blues in the Piedmont style, drawing from the works of the old blues-masters such as Blind Blake and the Rev Gary Davis, with excursions into the likes of Hoagy Carmichael. With appearances at The National, St Albans, Turning Wave, and many other festivals, and two CDs out so far, a Cady set is as close as you’ll get to that other East Coast (the one with guns) while staying comfortable on our own East Coast (the one with beer and football). We don’t get to see quality like Cady in Gosford often, so please check your guns at the door. BluesAngels are an eclectic mix of four multi-instrumentalists playing acoustic blues and other dues, from pre-WW1 to post-WW2 and on into 21st century originals.
They are led by Tom Flood on vocals, harmonicas, banjo, guitar and occasional washboard, backed by Cec Bucello on vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjomandolin and stompbox, reedsman Hugh Worrall on sax, clarinet, whistles, spoons and percussion, and that harum-scarum Scot, George ‘Magpie’ May on double bass, stick dulcimer and guitars BluesAngels murder jug band, hokum, jazz, rags & drags, and acoustify all kinds of blues from Delta and Piedmont through Chicago and Memphis to Skiffl e, Bluegrass, 60s R&B, and even Soweto township jive. With two CDs and a swag of fests from National Blues in Goulburn to Tamworth, Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass and many more, not to forget the inaugural GosBlues Fest this year, these sanctifi ed blueswhackers will have you forgetting you ever checked your weapons. All of this is free at Hotel Gosford, cnr Mann and Erina St, offering good food and drinks at reasonable prices. Booking in for dinner with ragtime guitar maestro Chris Cady, and then joining BluesAngels for dancin’ and consecrated devilry is recommended. “Watch Gosford City come alive First Fridays from 7:00pm to 11:00pm on Firday, May 6,” Mr Flood said.