Backsliders on line-up for Cobargo Folk Festival 2016

It is the 30th year The Backsliders have been playing delta and Mississippi blues around the country. 

“It came around quicker than expected, it’s funny how that works out,” founding member, slide guitarist and vocalist Dom Turner said. 

After an extensive trip in the US, Turner returned to Australia with the idea of starting a group that was halfway between an acoustic and electric blues band – something he felt was missing from the country’s music scene at the time. 

So in 1986 The Backsliders were formed, and while their sound has evolved over the years Turner said he still considers the band to be of the Mississippi blues tradition. 

“We are still a band without a bass player, which is intrinsic to the sound of north Mississippi we draw on.

“But as a result our music is much freer, less restricted; we can do whatever we want when we want.

“It sounds a bit facetious, but as long as I have a thumb we don’t need a bass player,” he laughed.  

For the last 16 years Turner has shared the stage with drummer Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil fame, as well as a roster of talented harmonica players. 

The Sydney-based band are on the line-up for the Cobargo Folk Festival this year, held on February 26-28 at the Cobargo Showground and will play at 9pm on the Saturday.

They will do an extended acoustic component as part of their set, as Turner thought the folk festival’s audience might appreciate it. 

“The reason why we include an acoustic session in our set, which we’ve only been doing for about the last eight years, is because we started up that way so it’s a hark back to how we sounded in our very first gigs,” he said. 

These days the band is more electric and Turner admitted he loved the electric sound. 

“But the last thing we want to do is make the same record, so the beauty of the music we draw on is that while our very early recordings were acoustic we soon delved into electric guitar, but still played in the same fashion,” he said. 

While The Backsliders’ audience has changed over the years, they have managed to maintain a lot of their original fan base and Turner said blues was starting to become popular again, just like in the early 1980s. 

“There is now a resurgence of blues in younger people, it’s becoming cool again,” Turner said. 

“I walk past cafes in Newtown and I can hear Howlin’ Wolf playing, and I think it’s great.

“… while trying new things, you should never forget the music of the past.”