This year the 25th anniversary of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival.
With the assistance of the Echuca Historical Society Inc., The Riv has compiled a brief timeline detailing the event’s origins and its evolution over the years.
The information has been taken from a special exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival, which has opened at the Echuca Historical Society Museum, showcasing the event’s remarkable growth from humble beginnings to a major regional festival.
The Winter Blues Festival was founded by a small group of businesspeople, who at the time, was led by Echuca Moama Business and Trades Association subcommittee Heritage Precinct Traders president Kylie Suich.
Originally called the ‘Beat the Winter Blues’, Ms Suich, a trader at the time, thought of starting the festival after seeing how ‘dead’ the town was through winter, wanting to bring some life to it.
She recently told The Riv, “I wanted to bring some life into the town in the dead of winter.”
“At the time, we had the jazz festival and the Southern 80 happening in the summer, and I thought about what we could do to liven up the town in the winter.”
On Sunday, July 25, 1999, a six-hour Beat the Winter Blues Festival took place between 10am and 4pm. Not just music, but a lot more for the whole family.
The first event included fairy tarot reading, face painting, stilt walkers, clowns, trick cycling, gourmet food tasting, lace crocheting competition, poetry readings, donut and ice-cream eating competitions, wine tasting, flower show, street theatre, waiters racing, spinning and craft demonstrations, storytime for under fives, weird hair colour competition, spin a yarn about your black billy, heritage hunt and much, much more.
Not just blues, at the ‘Beat the Winter Blues’ in 1999 bands covered jazz, Irish, hard rock, ’70s songs, top 40 covers, country rock, folk, country and western with a brass band and buskers.
Kylie left Echuca after the second running of the event and the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival was then led by Peter Williams, Campaspe Shire councillor, four-time mayor and hardworking volunteer.
Peter and the Winter Blues Festival Committee wanted to host an event that would draw visitors to the quiet, wintery town of Echuca.
Sadly, Peter Williams passed away in August 2022.
He had led and guided the Winter Blues Festival Committee for many years, and was pivotal in growing the festival from a Sunday afternoon with a handful of performers in the Port to a four-day event with 50 artists in over 20 locations in and around Echuca.
A brief timeline of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival
1999 ~ 2000 to 3000 people attend the first festival, originally called ‘Beat the Winter Blues, a six-hour event running from 10am to 4pm with diverse family activities and music genres beyond blues.
2000 ~ Some venues extend their hours for the festival to 6pm.
2001 ~ At least double the attendance of 1999 and 2000, with an estimated 4000 to 6000 people. There was an increased number of bands and the Echuca Art Group exhibition became a regular event. Some of the restaurants and hotels kicked off Saturday night blues.
2002 ~ About 5000 people attended. The event received a $1500 State Government grant, Tisdall's Wines became a major sponsor, and there was a Friday night kickoff at the Paramount Theatre. An estimated $3 million was spent in Echuca-Moama over the weekend.
2003 ~ More than 5000 people went along. The event was expanded to two days, Saturday and Sunday, and combined paddle steamers and blues music.
2004 ~ Blues bands played at four venues, Radcliffe’s, Oscar W’s, the Bridge Hotel, the Star Wine bar, with street entertainment on Saturday and Sunday.
2005 ~ There was Friday night dining and blues music and Saturday night street theatre, Enchanted River, two arts displays and a buskers’ competition.
2006 ~ 17 artists played at 17 venues, with an opening night on Friday and the festival continuing until 9pm on Sunday.
2007 ~ The introduction of the shopfront window display competition and there was Christian gospel blues added at the Anglican Church.
2008 ~ The 10th anniversary saw the introduction of the painted guitars competition and the festival officially became a three-day event.
2009 ~ The introduction of the Blues music boot camp for young local musicians, with six students in attendance.
2010 ~ Over 10,000 people attended the event, which introduced a buskers stage and saw surrounding towns join in the festivities. The Blues music boot camp for local students grew to 12 young people.
2011 ~ Saturday was just as busy as Sunday at the event, with a visit by the Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts, Heidi Victoria.
2012 ~ Over 14,000 people attended, with 30 more performances than the previous year and an increase in business for local traders.
2013 ~ Over 15,000 people went along. The festival received a grant from Tourism Victoria of $10,000 for marketing. Forty-three acts played at more than 20 venues.
2014 ~ The number of stages increased to 30, with a focus on benefiting local businesses.
2015 ~ The introduction of the homegrown stage for local talent. There was 145 performances from over 40 artists over three days
2016 ~ The festival expanded to four jam-packed days, with 24 stages and every hotel in town fully booked.
2017 ~ There was more than 40 performers at more than 30 venues, kicking off on Thursday night.
2018 ~ Sixty-two artists booked with some of the venues impacted by liquor licensing regulations.
2019 ~ For the 20th anniversary, a free festival app was launched and the kids’ space in Hopwood Gardens was increased to include Saturday
2020 and 2021 ~ Sadly, the festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.
2022 ~ The festival returned with 48 bands and 22 stages in -4℃ temperatures on the Saturday morning. All accommodation in town was sold out, the painted guitars competition returned, and the Songwriter’s Studio was introduced.
2023 ~ Upwards of 15,000 to 20,000 people attended with an estimated $10 million boost to the Echuca-Moama economy
2024 ~ Over 15,000 people attend, with around 80 per cent of them coming from out of town. The Homegrown stage ran on Saturday and Sunday.
This timeline was compiled from information published in the Riverine Herald and archived copies at the Echuca Historical Society Inc.
The information forms part of the 25th anniversary of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival exhibition, on at the Echuca Historical Society Museum until the middle of August 2025.
The Echuca Historical Society Museum is located at 1 Dickson St, Echuca, and is open daily from 10am to 2pm.