Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues 2017 Welcomes R&B Icon Jon Cleary

New Orleans R&B icon, Jon Cleary, will light up this year’s Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues.

Cleary, the man acclaimed by international superstar Bonnie Raitt as “the ninth wonder of the world,” will headline the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre on Friday 3 November and take centre stage at the Merriwa Park Blues marquee on Saturday 4 November.

English-born Cleary recorded his first album of eight tracks in 1989. His profile continued to soar as he scored recording sessions and international touring work in the bands of Taj Mahal, John Scofield, Dr John and most notably, Bonnie Raitt. Cleary is also an acclaimed songwriter and has written songs with both Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal.

Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues organisers are expecting a sell-out at both of Cleary’s performances, with Cleary’s Saturday show to be performed underneath a massive Hi-Top Marquee in beautiful Merriwa Park, a sure festival highlight.

Pre-sale tickets with early-bird discounts for the three-day Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues now in its 28th year are on sale at www.wangarattajazz.com and at the festival box office at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.

Who: Jon Cleary & The Absolute Gentlemen

Where: Wangaratta Festival of Jazz

When: 3 & 4 November 2017

About The Festival

Wangaratta Jazz & Blues was originally conceived by a group of locals in 1989 as a way to attract visitors and put Wangaratta “on the map”. The first Festival was held in 1990. Now in its 28th year, the Festival has grown to become an internationally renowned event, attracting around 20,000 visitors each year and more than 300 Jazz and Blues artists from the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Wangaratta is renowned for locally grown produce and wines from the region’s family-owned vineyards. Other activities in the area include the wineries along Prosecco Road in the King Valley, bike rides from Beechworth to Wangaratta and the Milawa Gourmet region.