The first Timbre Rock & Roots Festival -- Blues, jazz and a lot of stargazing

It's the first blues-and-jazz concert of its kind in Singapore, bringing big names such as The Fray, Gipsy Kings, Buddy Guy and Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, together in one location. It's taken two years to turn the Timbre Rock & Roots Festival from a plan to a real event, but those behind it, Timbre owners Danny Loong and Edward Chia, and Peter Noble, the festival director behind the East Coast Blues Festival, also known as Bluesfest (Byron Bay, Australia), are convinced it has been worth it. 

Edward Chia told Today Online that it might have happened earlier, but was put on hold as the financial crisis was at its peak at that time and the line-up wasn't good enough to kick off with. "We didn't want to call it 'blues and roots' because we thought it too limiting," said Danny Loong. "But some roots music incorporates the blues, and rock comes from the blues."

True to its name, the Festival isn't just limited to rock and roots music -- the artists come from all over the world and include Jools Holland and his R&B orchestra, Blues Train, Gugun & Blues Shelter as well as New Zealand born singer Alarice. New Zealand’s biggest band OPSHOP, the four-piece rock band from Auckland, also recently joined the Rock & Roots line-up.

But will this be a flash in the pan, one-off affair? The prospect seems unlikely. "We never get involved in a business that is a one-off thing," said Edward Chia. "We want to do it every year. We don't think this first one is going to be a resounding success, like 20,000 people attending, but we expect to get a good crowd. We're in it for the long haul."

getting there

Timbre Rock & Roots Festival 2010
Marina Boulevard (on the Singapore Grand Prix F1 tracks)
March 26 & 27
One and two-day passes available via Bytes or the Arts House Box Office
tel +65 6332 6919
www.rockandroots.com.sg