An evening of groovy swamp-rock-blues with The 8 Ball Aitken Band & Dillion James @ Little Rawdon Island

Address: 820 Rawdon Island Road, Rawdon Island NSW 2446

Saturday JAN 4th, 2025, 7pm-10pm

Camping available for $10 per person (Call Scott & Margaret on 0428 235 858).

BYO drinks and nibbles.

Gig tickets are $35 Adult / $17 kids under 12 plus Humanatix.com booking fee. Also available from 8ballaitken.com

...

8 BALL AITKEN

8 Ball Aitken has toured the world for more than a decade performing his swampy-blues-rock across twenty countries to date. He’s earned a loyal fanbase from his live shows and internet videos, while paying his dues as a singer, songwriter, slide-guitarist, and producer.

8 Ball moved to Nashville, Tennessee, USA in 2012 and worked for nine years with many of the best in the blues business today. He won second place in the 2021 International New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival hosted by blues woman Samantha Fish.

8 Ball is back with a brand-new blues rock album ‘ICE CREAM MAN 2’ that hit #1 in the Australian Blues & Roots Charts in June 2023 and had 4 number #1 AMRAP Chart hits. This new 12-song recording was mostly completed in Nashville right before he re-located back to Australia. It’s a highly anticipated follow up to the first ‘ICE CREAM MAN’ album that also hit #1 on the Australian Blues & Roots Charts in March 2021.

8 Ball Aitken produced ‘ICE CREAM MAN 2’ himself. The cast of musicians include Grammy winning drummer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy), saxophone legend Buddy Leach (George Thorogood & The Destroyers), Sydney soul singer Taya Chani and 8 Ball’s younger brother Dillion James Aitken on Hammond organ and piano. 8 Ball’s partner Jessy Lynch also sang backup vocals. Jessy & 8 Ball welcomed their new baby boy ‘Sonny Miles Aitken’ into their musical family earlier this year.

‘ICE CREAM MAN 2’ CDs and vinyl records are available now from the ‘SHOP’ page on 8ballaitken.com along with tour dates, news, videos, merch and more.

“8 Ball Aitken demonstrates that the blues are alive and well Down Under with this deep-in-the-pocket collection of modern blues and blues rock that’s built atop a swamp blues structure.” Chicago Blues Guide

“For a guy from Australia, 8 Ball Aitken really has the Delta in his bones… I wouldn’t be surprised to find Mississippi mud on the soles of his shoes.” - Gonzo Okanagan

“A lovely, enjoyable collection, start to finish, with the inevitable few songs that stand out, and invite you to hit the replay.” Blues In Britain – Graham Munn

“A mixture of balladry, wordplay, and cutting edge guitar, Swamp Blues 2 from 8 Ball Aitken deserves to be in everyone’s collection.” American Blues Scene

...

DILLION JAMES

Dillion James specialises in starting the party with his New Orleans piano grooves, funky Hammond Organ, and raw honest vocals. Influenced heavily by the pioneers of blues piano & Hammond organ, Dillion's powerful stage presence makes an instant impact.

Dillion will be releasing his full length album ‘HEAVY KEYS’ in February 2024. The new album was co-produced with his string shredding older brother 8 Ball Aitken, who also co-wrote four of the new songs.

‘HEAVY KEYS’ features Melbourne drumming legend John Watson behind the kit and Mississippi based saxophone legend ‘Buddy Leach’ (long time member of George Thorogood & The Destroyers) who played the majority of the sax on the recording. A hand-picked cast of Brisbane’s finest blues musicians also played on the album.

Over the last twenty years of gigging on the festival and blues circuit, Dillion has re-birthed an energetic sound that encapsulates the tone of an earlier era.

His self-taught keyboard technique binds melody and rhythm together, and like a real blues-man, has paid his dues performing and perfecting his craft on the road and at the late night gigs.

Dillion James won the 2010 BASEQ blues performer of the year award. Either with his own band, or as a session musician, Dillion has tickled the ivories on many of the biggest stages in Australian blues music. He has played at Byron Bluesfest, Blues on Broadbeach, Woodford Festival, Mitchell Creek Rock & Blues Festival and many more.