Tauranga-based original music band Hybrid Blues can be found over in Rotorua this Queen’s Birthday Weekend as part of the Rotorua Blues Festival.

Hybrid Blues is an original music band. There’s the founder and leader Roy Hudson vocals, guitar, blues harp, Brooke Stinson vocals and keyboards, Dean Cronin lead guitar, Mark Schaumann vocals, percussion and drums, and Darrel Hartley bass.

Hybrid Blues jamming at the Black Sheep Bar & Grill Whakamarama this summer

Rotorua Blues Fest rehearsal (from the Hybrid Blues facebook page)

Leader and the composer of Hybrid Blues original music catalogue, Roy Hudson and I “telephone talked” earlier this evening. It’s such a privilege for ARTbop; as it was to go down to Paengaroa and watch the filming of HB’s first music video. Seeing the development of any form of creativity gives you an insight into the hardwork and dedication required: what you see hanging on the wall or performing on the stage is just the final “party dress”.

The first thing Roy says is that “it’s a team effort” and then he goes on to tell me how as a band it’s actually much more demanding to play original compositions and music; not the same as a covers band, but harder requiring all the artists to have their own input into the songs.

Hudson comments: “All the music is mine at the moment, but next Wednesday I’m meeting with Brooke; Brooke’s got poems and melodies and we going to put them together in a song. She’s not done this before, it’s a great opportunity.”

In January of this year Hybrid Blues “launched” its first EP Sunshine at Vinyl Destination in Downtown Tauranga. In February the band was over in Rotorua performing with two other bands. They’ve been featured on the Dionne Show – well four of them started and Darrel showed up later!! Stones in Ocean (from the Rotorua gig) joined Hybrid Blues and Electric Universe at the Black Sheep, Whakamarama in early May for a fundraising concert to support the Waipuna Hospice. And there’s been international airplay.

I ask Roy if they’ve had any funding support for their development as an original music group – not at the moment – they needed to have been together for at least six months at the time they applied. “It’s about having a track record”. So they’re doing it themselves. Setting up their structures – website, facebook, etc. They paid for that first professionally created video and the EP production.

They have their CD ($10 for Sunshine) sold at gigs, downloads and they’re working on a second video “they’re doing themselves”. Hudson says that most labels now require a group to have the structures in place and have developed a following for their independently produced material. So they’re working hard at “self-promotion”.

I wonder if they’ve considered a sponsor? They’d have one if there was one. Now would be a good time as Hybrid Blues is putting together an album. I mention The 13th Floor website where I’d seen Marty Duda and Sophie Mashlan in conversation – “you need to check it out”. Roy tucks that in the memory bank and then tells me that he will be the subject of an interview with People of Paradise – you’ll want to check out that YouTube channel. In the meantime here’s Sunshine!

While he’s waiting for fate to work its magic Hudson and the band are enjoying the music, developing their combined music professionalism and working hard. Yes he’s so glad he came back to New Zealand (Hudson hails from Whakatane and affiliates to Ngati Awa). “You should see the view from my window…”

Check out their website: https://www.hybridblues.com/

And their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hybridblues/

You might want to check out a couple of other articles I’ve written about Hybrid Blues:

Cafe Culture: jamming it up at the Black Sheep: Hybrid Blues

Cafe Culture: Hybrid Blues at The Funky Lizard, Paengaroa

Blues Festival

1 Final Running Order Fri Sat 19052019

2 Final Running Order Sun 19052019

11175002_858837110855604_3979683071385239168_n BOP Blues Festival

The Rotorua Blues Festival is held annually over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. The festival has been held most years since the club’s inception in 2006, when the festival was originally run as an “add on” to the Targa Rally that used to be held in Rotorua at the same time every year. When the Targa Rally changed its time table the Blues Festival became a standalone event on its own. The time of the year has been adhered to despite it essentially being winter one main reason being that this has traditionally been a quieter time of the year for Rotorua – even with the tourist destination that it is.

The BOP Blues Club strives to to the public attention local, national and International acts in the festival. In the past we have brought acclaimed artists to the festival such as Doug McLeod from the USA, Andy Phillips, Lloyd Spiegel, Michael Hocking, Isiah Brunt and Jan Preston from Australia.

for further information please contact: info@bopblues.com, secretary@bopblues.com or phone Di Riddel @ 0279 563 105

Artists participation and program can be subject to change! So watch this Space!!!

We hope you enjoy the Festival as much as we have bringing it to you! thank you for your support..

*Keep Rotorua music Alive!*

Rosemary Balu. Rosemary Balu is the founding and current Managing Editor of ARTbop. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working lawyer and has participated in a wide variety of community activities where information gathering, submission writing, community advocacy and education have been involved. Interested in all forms of the arts since childhood Rosemary is focused on further developing and expanding multi-media ARTbop as the magazine for all the creative arts in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

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