With ABC’s once-revived Spicks And Specks now terminated, RocKwiz is free to once more reign as the undisputed king of music trivia on the Australian airwaves, and now the long-running SBS favourite has got a pair of great excuses to tune in for the current series’ season finale.
The first of two special RocKwiz episodes shot on location at this year’s BluesFest will air tonight offering a chance to experience the 25th Silver Anniversary edition of the Byron Bay music festival for those that weren’t there (or re-live the hilarity for those that were).
Filmed over Bluesfest 2014’s three massive days this past Easter in front of an audience in the thousands, hosts Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis took over the Jambalaya Stage with their special RocKwiz Orchestra for a special live edition of the televised quizzing and riffing that featured a host of legendary guest performers drawn from the huge Bluesfest 2014 lineup.
The hour-long special kicks off with Vika and Linda Bull running the house band through a high-stakes cover of ‘Let’s Have A Party Tonight’ by the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson (playing the Jambalaya Stage during Bluesfest), there’s appearances from – spoiler alert – Aussie rock matriarch Adalita, You Am I frontman Tim Rogers (with his solo accomplice Shane O’Mara), historic Texan songwriter Steve Earle, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.
Other special guests include Beth Hart, The Dynamic Hepnotics’ ‘Continental’ Robert Susz, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and even a cheeky cameo from Bluesfest’s own wizened director Peter Noble.
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Following tonight’s hour-long quiz special, next week’s RocKwiz finalé will be a behind-the-scenes special on Bluesfest, hosted by part-time charmer, full-time Aussie singer-songwriter, Henry Wagons.
Hosting with all the wit you’d expect of the man behind Acid Rain & Sugar Cane, Wagons will whip viewers through the festival’s 25-year-rich history in a documentary stretching back to the Byron Bay staple’s humble origins, through to taking them backstage at this year’s edition of the festival; Bluesfest’s biggest yet, with its 90+ strong lineup drawing 104,526 patrons over its five day run in April.
So in summary: first Bluesfest special airs tonight (Monday 23rd June) at 9.30pm on SBS One, Wagons-hosted doco screens next week (Monday 30th June, 9.30pm). If you miss the episodes for other viewing pleasures (World Cup, am I right?) both should be available online in the coming weeks via SBS On Demand.
