A RECORD number of music fans turned out for the first night of the Phuket International Blues and Rock Festival last weekend.

More than 800 people flocked to the Hilton Arcadia site and almost as many were there for the second night.

Organiser, Andy Anderson, said this year’s line-up was one of the best ever.

Phuket’s ‘music king’, Ricky Zen, was the MC for the fourth year running, and he kept the action flowing.

American, George Cordeiro and the Fai Jang Band started the show on Friday, and they did a great job priming up the audience and getting the party started.

George was followed by all-time local favourites, Sam Wilkinson and his
daughter Miki.

Miki has a great voice and she has become known as ‘Phuket’s answer to Wayne Newton’.

Australian Connie Gibbons was a last-minute arrival, and she added some real flavour to the night with her seductive bluesy strains.

One of Phuket’s best-loved local bands, the Groove Doctors, did a stand up job with Tony ‘Chainsaw’ Wilson at the helm, and Jimmy Fame paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix, and was last seen signing copies of his latest book, Chasing Jimi.

Rich Harper literally changed his tune and sat down with a small, hand painted acoustic guitar to showcase a more intimate side of his talents.

He broke the rock mould, and the crowd loved him all the more for it.

After four years of belting out the same power-house upbeat music, Rich, being the professional that he is, left the main performance to this years headliner Eric Bibb.

American Eric Bibb takes the cake, and how sweet it is.

In four years, the Blues Festival has never seen the likes of Eric Bibb.

MC Ricky Zen summed it up when he said “This is as real as it gets,”
When it comes to true South of the bayou American blues, Eric is the man.

On Saturday, the crowd was a little sparse, but that didn’t slow Lil Willy and Ko from Samui, who started the ball rolling.

Then there was the beautiful and talented Aussie songstress, Kniki.

Bert Deivert and Janne Zander from Sweden slowed down the tempo with a mandolin and single acoustic guitar set.

The audiences were ready for action when the Blues Machine, from Pattaya, hit the stage, and the Snow Man and Mary electrified the night with their sheer presence and power.

Bangkok’s Cannonball followed up with their magnetic pull and captured the audience with their energy and charisma.

They were joined by Rich Harper and the sparks really started to fly.

Last but not least came Mich Woods and his Rocket 88s from the US.

They closed the night, and the festival, with a rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis’s Whole Lotta Shakin.

But the action didn’t finish on Saturday.

The after party at Ricky Zen’s Flamingo Splash Bar in Kata was a fitting finale to a fantastic weekend of great music.

Most of the acts turned up and jammed at the Flamingo, and the place was really pumping.

Rich Harper, Mitch Woods, The Blues Machine’s Snowman and Mary, Kniki, Lil Willy, Jake from Denmark, Ricky Zen and Harry K, all took a turn on stage while guests danced and partied in the shallow end of the stage-side pool.