
The Adelaide Gaol was built in 1841 and housed approximately 300,000 prisoners during its 147 years of operation. The Gaol was closed in February 1988 and was known as the longest continuously operating prison in Australia.
GAOL BLUES Festival 2016, Sunday, March 20th 2 PM - 10 PM at the Old Adelaide Gaol
Quench your thirst with local craft beer, cider and wine, and bask in the atmosphere as you get set to dance the night away. Gates will open at 1pm. on the day. This will also be an opportunity to explore the historic Adelaide Gaol and wander along its eerie and intriguing paths between the old walls before settling in to great blues, food, and craft brews.
“The gaol blues concept originates from talks about what we could do that was special to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Adelaide Gaol. We needed a major festival event to kick start the celebrations and noted that Adelaide does not have an outdoor blues festival and there was a real need for such an event. We thought, Jail - Blues - Blues Brothers!”
Goal Blues promises to be a family friendly event with broad appeal and with a good percentage of local acts. Two of the headline bands have just returned from competing in Memphis at the Blues Foundations International Blues Challenge, our very own Hammond driven Lazy Eye into the quarter finals and Dreamboogie an exciting Melbourne outfit that made it to the Semi’s. Also Zkye Blue, winner of ARBA’s Blues Album Of 2014-15 award represented South Australia in the Blues Foundation Self-Produced CD Contest in Memphis, a first for an S.A. Act.
“We are hoping that this will become an annual event with the public’s support, and would love to see it grow each year firstly to a full day festival with the introduction of a second stage to accomodate many more artists, then hopefully a full two day festival of the blues in the historically beautiful grounds of the Adelaide Gaol.”
The staging for this years event is a large 10m x 5m x 1m covered stage with full connect production located on the grassed area. The bands will be well catered for with a large green room and professional staging and sound production provided by Corpralite Audio. The event will also be professionally filmed and sound recorded for future release.
“The main stage will be on a large grassed area with grandstand seating. There will also be other seating available throughout the venue. We don't permit chairs to be brought into the event, but we are watering the grass regularly to ensure it will be comfortable for people to sit on if they prefer.”
I also spoke to Ronny Davidson MC and stage manager.
“When I was approached about helping the organisers with this event, I jumped at the opportunity. I have helped them book the acts that they wanted and was excited to be asked to MC on the day. This is the event that we have been waiting for in Adelaide."
There will be a tight 15 minute change-over between bands so the entertainment doesn’t let up throughout the day, including acoustic performers entertaining in the food court. There you’ll find several food vans located on the bitumen courtyard with an American and Southern theme including fire pit bbq grill, serviced bars with Hills Cider and Mismatch Brewery on tap and a selection of wines available with table and chairs for comfortable dining. “We are very excited about getting our large neon sign and banners erected at the Gaol for the next phase of publicity and there will be plenty of Gaol Blues Merchandise to purchase to mark the inaugural festival.” Peter Allan 7/2/16 |
:GAOL BLUES Festival 2016 Sunday, March 20 2 PM - 10 PM Old Adelaide Gaol Featuring: Blues Brothers and Sister of Soul Show Gumbo Ya! Ya! Zkye Blue Chris Finnen Band Isaiah B Brunt Dreamboogie Blind Dog Taylor and One More Mile Lazy Eye The Brouhaha 500 early bird tickets @ $30 Regular price $40 to get your early bird tickets www.ticketebo.com.au/gaolblues More event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events Old Adelaide Gaol Website: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/Home |
18 Gaol Rd, Thebarton South Australia 5031 | Plan view of Adelaide Gaol: ![]()
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