IWD - WOMEN OF BLUES FESTIVAL @ THE TOTE

Double Trouble Blues Sessions Presents a special International Womens Day Blues Festival showcase at The Iconic Tote HotelNARDIA

NARDIA (MBAS BC winners 2024 - quartet band)

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DUmotrEpe/ https://youtu.be/uzRat7HXfg8?si=BS0J95OIZhuX5bHQ

Nardia is one of Australia’s most powerful contemporary blues and soul voices, known for her commanding stage presence, emotional depth, and genre-crossing sound. As the 2025 Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society IBC representative, Nardia placed in the final five internationally and has now signed with US management, preparing to relocate stateside. Her appearance at the IWD Women of Blues Festival marks a special farewell weekend performancebefore her move — a moment of pride, celebration, and send-off for one of Australia’s most exciting blues exports.

KALIOPI & THE BLUES MESSENGERS

KALIOPI & THE BLUES MESSENGERS (MBAS BC runners up 2024 - quintet band)

https://youtu.be/pXaM_rPrNKshttps://youtu.be/qevB3eiLGAAKaliopi & The Blues Messengers deliver award-winning modern blues steeped in Delta soul, Chicago grit, and cinematic storytelling. Led by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Kaliopi Stavropoulos, the band bridges the lineage of early blueswomen with a contemporary, emotionally charged sound. Their debut album Blues for Minnie earned international praise from Blues Blast Magazine (USA), while The Devil’s Voodoo Curse (2024) won the VIC/TAS Blues Award for Emerging Artist and spent over eleven months on independent blues charts. In 2025, the band continues to evolve with acclaimed singles, including How the Caged Bird Sings (inspired by Maya Angelou) and One Woman One Love, ahead of their anticipated third album Live at Woodstock.

COLD SNAP

COLD SNAP (MBAS BC runners up 2025 - sixtet band)

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AF9UA2GXg/

Established in 2007, Cold Snap has ignited stages with a high-energy blend of blues, funk, soul, and R&B. Led by the dynamic husband-and-wife team Joe and Sonia Valenti, this powerhouse six-piece delivers unforgettable live shows filled with passion. Runners up in the 2025 MBAS Blues Challenge, the band narrowly missed representing Melbourne at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Their performances are polished yet raw, driven by soulful vocals, tight musicianship, and the unmistakable onstage chemistry between Joe and Sonia. With their stellar bandmates, Cold Snap creates an engaging, uplifting live experience that’s impossible to ignore.

DELTA DEBI CANDLISH (USA / FNQ)

DELTA DEBI CANDLISH [QLD] (solo MBAS awarded artist)

Originally from the foothills of North Carolina, surrounded by Delta and Piedmont blues, Delta Debi Candlish brings deep Southern soul to Australian stages. After her early years performing across Victoria’s festival circuit, her debut album Ain’t Got the Blues swept the VIC/TAS Blues Awards, winning Best Debut Album, Best Female Vocalist, and tying for Best Album. Now based in Far North Queensland, Delta Debi delivers a powerful blend of traditional blues, gospel, slide guitar, swampy grooves, and award-winning originals — raw, rootsy, and unforgettable.

Anthea 'Jewels' Sideropolous  https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18KU1sQrcX/

Anthea ‘Jewels’ Sidiropoulos is a powerhouse Melbourne-based blues singer-songwriter known for her passion, energy and soul, blending original and traditional blues with influences from Aretha Franklin to Etta James and Janis Joplin — the latter earning her comparisons to a reincarnation of Janis herself onstage. With decades of live performance experience at major festivals and international stages including New Orleans, Memphis and San Francisco, Jewels’ storytelling through music is both raw and uplifting.

STELLA ANNING

STELLA ANNING (solo/trio)

Stella Anning is a guitarist and songwriter with a strong jazz foundation, known for her musical sensitivity, technical finesse, and genre-fluid approach. Also a member of Isuela, Stella weaves blues, jazz, and roots influences into performances that are expressive, nuanced, and deeply musical — a rising voice in Melbourne’s blues and roots scene.

LINDA STAINTON TRIO

LINDA STAINTON TRIO (WIB graduate - trio)

Linda Stainton is a respected harmonica player whose expressive, soulful harp work has made her a sought-after collaborator on the blues circuit. Drawing from classic blues traditions while bringing her own voice to the instrument, Linda adds grit, texture, and emotional punch wherever she plays — a true blues craftswoman with Bruce McKail, guitar and Bev Jenson, drum .

'MARNI ROSE' (singer Marni Rose & The Thorns)

MARNI ROSE (singer Marni Rose & The Thorns - WIB graduate - trio)

LIZZY D. SMITH

LIZZY D. SMITH -(Australian Idol-Duo)

https://youtu.be/DxflSlhlBck?si=0NqKb3ryS6HN3xa4

https://youtu.be/w6jYLGygmpA?si=JFADOZuZc_qWSFPp

Lizzy D Smith is a folk, country, soul and rhythm & blues singer-songwriter whose warm charisma and fearless honesty make every show feel like a shared story. With over 14 years as an award-winning cabaret performer, she brings depth, humour, and heart to the stage—delivering original songs on guitar and foot percussion with powerful vocals and a lived-in truth. Known for her striking style and down-to-earth presence, Lizzy invites audiences into a world that’s equal parts grit and grace, effortlessly blending musical craftsmanship with a rare kind of connection that makes every room feel like home.