Australian blues legends and Milton Theatre requlars, Backsliders are returning to the live stage after a 3-year hiatus in a re-invented format—intimate, stripped back, ‘downhome’ and acoustic based—presenting reworked versions of songs from their almost 40-year recording history along with a few new surprises.

Dom Turner (guitars, Vietnamese đàn tứ and vocals)

Rob Hirst (guitar, percussion and vocals),

Joe Glover (harmonica and banjo)

Slide Guitarist, multi-stringed instrumentalist, songwriter and vocalist, Dom Turner, is the founding member of the group. Dom’s influences are many and varied – a blend of delta blues, piedmont blues, rock, dub and sounds of Asia. He is a highly regarded speaker on blues and roots music and has guested on Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) radio programs and presented music workshops at festivals and in universities both nationally and internationally. He has been awarded a doctorate for his research into blues music.

Drum and percussion virtuoso and songwriter Rob Hirst, an acclaimed name synonymous with the best of Australian music. As a founding member of the legendary Australian band, Midnight Oil, Rob’s work needs no explanation—he stands as one of the world’s great drummers—drawing on his early jazz and swamp-rock influences to produce a sound that is integral to the Backsliders 21^st century blues grooves. Rob’s achievements in the music industry are many and varied including In publishing his first work of prose on Pan McMillan – ‘Willies Bar & Grill’ telling the story of Midnight Oil’s USA & Canadian tour just after September 11.

Joining Dom and Rob is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic harmonica and banjo players, Joe Glover.

It’s a lineup that carries serious weight, not just on the Australian blues scene, but across genres and styles the world over.

The achievements, success and reviews over the band’s 30+ years tell it all

Reviews

“Australian blues at its most primal, its most real” Rhythms Magazine

“A Backsliders show is like no other.." Far from the Mississippi delta, they took us to the water’s edge, ‘til we felt the riverbed beneath our feet” Rhythms Magazine

“It is no wonder that The Backsliders are regarded as Australia’s greatest blues outfit: they consist of four world-class exponents of their respective instruments.” Glam Adelaide

“If the band was any tighter it would burst.” “This is one tightly rehearsed outfit, which may have something to do with the fact that they have been working together for many years and are masters of their respective crafts.” BWW Reviews

“Backsliders are the real deal in the blues..” Sydney Morning Herald

“Australian blues that goes well beyond the 12-bar, Backsliders remain as important and endearing as ever.” The Music.com.au

“The [tracks] sound like they’re being made by some hungry youths from the Deep South with empty bellies saved for the fires burning bright inside of them." @thedwarfsite Natalie Salvo

Doors open 7.30pm