All board for blues

Now in its 22nd year, the Blues Train is one of the most iconic music and tourist attractions in Victoria.
The Blues Train, which is a combined music and steam train travel experience, was inspired by stories of the old blues masters jamming on freight trains around America’s deep south.
Event founder Hugo T Armstrong finds himself reflecting on the 21 years; the people he’s met and seen come time and time again, the musicians who cut their teeth at Blues Train and have gone on to earn international success, and the highly skilled railway maintenance team who keep the steam engines running and take care of the track.
Hugo says 48 per cent of attendees are repeat clientele.
“In these past 21 years,the equivalent of two Etihad stadiums full of people have been to Blues Train shows and we’ve travelled further than the distance from Queenscliff to Shanghai, China,” he says.
“Each year our event has a $4.8 million economic impact as well as a $7.5 million indirect economic impact.”
Since its humble beginnings, the Blues Train has featured an 18-year-old Mia Dyson, many of Ash Grunwald’s first gigs, the multi-platinum selling and multi-ARIA award winning John Butler Trio as well as Claude hay, Collard Greens & Gravy and Jimi Hocking.
Hugo says the new acts are just as memorable.
Blues Train recently released the fourth volume of its Train Trax CD, a compilation of tracks played at shows throughout the years.
Tickets are sold out until late January. Upcoming shows include 23 January, 30 January, 13 February, 20 February and 27 February.
For tickets or more information, visit ticketek.com.au or thebluestrain.com.au.