Blues Arcadia combine the legendary soul of Stax and Motown with the heat and power of the Chicago and Memphis blues to create a unique dirty-soul sound delivered with swagger, style and sensitivity.
Winners of an Australian Blues Music Award and Australian Roots Music Award nominees, the song-writing partnership of vocalist Alan Boyle and guitarist Chris Harvey continues to go from strength to strength. They are joined by collaborators and partners-in-crime Jeremy Klysz (bass), Paula Girvan (keys) and Casper Hall (drums) and their 2019 album Carnival Of Fools captures the sound of the band swinging from the rafters and shaking the foundations of blues and soul music – exactly as they perform live, with raw emotion and absolute conviction. Reviews include 4.5 stars from The Australian Weekend Review, 5 stars from the Sunday Mail, a #5 debut on the AIR Independent Charts and a #1 debut on the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay Charts.
Nobody in this band is just along for the ride. These are five strong individual personalities working together to create something uniquely exciting. It’s almost impossible to choose which of them to watch and engage with during a show, where each player directs their energy into the most important thing – the Song, making it the best it can be. That is the power of Blues Arcadia.
“The first full-length album for Brisbane’s Blues Arcadia finds the accomplished five-piece at the height of their powers.” – Phil Stafford, Courier Mail
“An impressively accomplished debut album… Blues Arcadia exudes all-round excellence” – Tony Hillier, Weekend Australian Review
“This is what a 21st century blues band should sound like – a howling celebration of what it is to make music now” – Mark Doherty, Nothin’ But The Blues, 4ZZZ 102.1FM
“Damn good songwriting across a range of styles, allied to some quality musicianship from all concerned.”- Iain Cameron, Blues Matters Magazine
“A highlight of the performance is the interplay between main songwriters Alan Boyle and guitarist Chris Harvey” – COURIER MAIL QWeekend
“Next time they’re playing, make sure you see them.” SCENESTR Magazine