Chill City at Alexandre Gardens

Featuring: John Butler Trio, Paul Kelly, Betty Harris (USA) with The Bamboos, Ben Kweller (USA), Easy Star All Stars (USA), Dan Sultan, Whitely, Mamie Minch (USA)

CHILL CITY, a joyous celebration of music, food and wine, will be held in the heart of Melbourne at the Alexandra Gardens on Good Friday, 10 April 2009.

This one day event will deliver the finest collection of blues, roots, soul, rock, R&B, country and world acts from across the globe with festivities taking place in one of Melbournes most beautiful gardens, in the heart of the city.

Presented by Justin Stanford, founder of Chill Island and Mario Maccarone, co-owner of the legendary music venue, the Continental Café, this value for money event will also offer a lip-smacking, delightfully lingering selection of the best local food and wines.

It gives us great pleasure in announcing as headliners, Australian roots legends, the John Butler Trio, who will play their only 2009 Melbourne show before heading into the studio to record their next album.

John Butler is Australia's most successful independent artist ever and his label Jarrah Records has now been responsible for 800,000 CD sales in Australia. These days hes a regular fixture at the worlds biggest music festivals including New Orleans Jazz Festival, Coachella and Lollapalooza. Dont miss this opportunity to catch the band in their only Melbourne performance for the year.

Paul Kelly is of one of the world's great songwriters, the man who has chronicled our country's beauty, scars and desires as well as the personal insights which know no borders in an extraordinary songwriting career that now spans more than 30 years. Paul will present a best of of his amazing songwriting repertoire, especially for CHILL CITY.

Best known for her 1963 hit Cry to Me, New Orleans soul singer, Betty Harris, was mentored by blues chanteuse, Big Maybelle Betty, and comes from the throaty, gospel tradition of Etta James, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. In 2004 she made a very welcome comeback to the music scene after a decade long hiatus.

Betty will take to the stage with Australia's own masters of deep funk and super heavy soul, and The best new Deep Funk band in the world today.... (Adrian Gibson, The Jazz Cafe/Freestyle Records U.K), The Bamboos. The Bamboos live shows are a non-stop mixtape-style throw-downs that draw the links between Hip Hop, Soul, Funk and old-school Breaks.

American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, the stylistically restless Ben Kweller (USA), shifts from indie rock to ballads to anti-folk to melodic rock, often from song to song, but for his latest and fourth album, Changing Horses, its pure country. The 27-year-old Texan-bred musician is known for his unforgettable melodies, deeply soulful lyrics and sensitivity. The CHILL CITY audience is in for a treat.

The Easy Star All Stars (USA) are a funky collective of some of the finest reggae musicians in the New York area who specialise in covering popular albums in a reggae and dub style. Their album, Dub Side of the Moon (2003), the complete reggae re-vision of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, is one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century. It has spent over five years on Billboards Top Reggae Chart and Reggae Catalog Chart. In 2006, the band followed up Dub Side with Radiodread, a complete reggae re-vision of Radioheads OK Computer. That record has also been a huge success, sparking great reviews, and even garnering praise from Radiohead.

Dan Sultan continued his rise to popularity on the Australian music scene in 2008 performing with the likes of Paul Kelly, Kev Carmody, The Waifs and Missy Higgins. A member of Black Arm Band he shared the stage at The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with Archie Roach, Jimmy Little and Shane Howard amongst other greats. Dan performed his song Roslyn, written about the stolen generation at the Sorry Day celebrations at Federation Square, a day to remember for all Australians with the emotion charged audience delivering a standing ovation.

Rounding out the CHILL CITY line up is Melbourne artist, Whitely, who blends acoustic flavours with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed, whimsical tales of love and loss, and the voluptuously voiced Mamie Minch (USA).

Visual art created by students from the Sunshine Special Development School will also be on display with kids activities provided too. Children 12 and under will be admitted free.

What better way to kick off the Easter long weekend than by relaxing in the beautiful Alexandra Gardens and enjoying the best of Australian and international blues, roots, soul, rock, reggae, dub, funk, and country music, with a glass of wine in your hand? Chill out in the city.

GOOD FRIDAY, 10 APRIL 2009

Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne City

Noon to 10.00pm

Tickets: www.chillcity.com.au, Greville Records 03 9510 3012, Missing Link 03 9670 8208, Polyester Records City 03 9663 8696, Polyester Records Fitzroy 03 9419 5137, The Espy 03 9534 0211 ext 233, The National Hotel, Geelong 03 5221 1211

Kids under 12 admitted free. All patrons under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

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