The 2008 Phuket International Blues Rock Festival scheduled to be staged at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa February 22-23, 2008. The 2008 Phuket International Blues Rock Festival has been expanded to an international South East Asian blues/rock band informal competition — sort of a “Blues/Rock Idol”. The 2008 line-up of performers will feature ten or so of South East Asia’s finest acts such as Bangkok’s Soi Dog Blues Band, Ad Here Blues Band and Cannonball as well as The Blues Machine from Pattaya and Boy Blues Band from Chiang Mai.

Salty Dog, one of Australia’s top blues acts, and the Rich Harper Band from Los Angeles which has gathered a strong following in Thailand over the past two years will return in 2008, making this festival, a blues/rock extravaganza. The band will not be part of the competition, but will close the show with a fiery finale Saturday night.

First held in December 2005, The Phuket International Blues Festival was organized to help Phuket and its tsunami recovery and to show the world that Phuket is capable of staging international music events comparable to competing destinations. The festival is a charity event, with profits being donated to these organizations dedicated to children’s education:

• The Phuket International Women's Club — a non-profit organization offering scholarships of education for children and have helped, or are currently helping more than 250 children financially with their education from Kindergarten up to University.
  
  
• The Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation — works with local educators to improve the economic opportunities and life chances of young people by funding and implementing high quality, practical English language education in government schools in Phuket.

Web site: www.phuketbluesfestival.com

Source: Phuket Music Production Co., Ltd release dated October 15, 2007