The MAS visits the Blues on Broadbeach Festival

For the past few years, the MAS has met up with a group of three others at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast to enjoy the Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival.

The four of us go back about 40 years – we all attended University (or Teacher’s College as it was then) together in Ballarat, after attending the same secondary school.

With a shared background in education, it’s interesting to note that only one of us now works in the classroom.

As the resident Queenslander, my task each year is to book suitable accommodation, recommend some places to eat, and provide the airport pickups. The first pickup this year was at Brisbane International as B flew in from Indonesia for the weekend. The weather was pretty ordinary as we rolled down the M1, and we had a catch-up conversation. At one point my friend said that while he knew the rest of us were really into the music part of the weekend, he was there for the social side of it – seeing again his three best friends. I will return to this in a moment.

A few hours later, the other two, S and J, arrived at Coolangatta Airport from Victoria. In drizzly, annoying rain we headed to Eddie’s Grub House for lunch, an excellent choice as it turned out. Then back to Broadbeach to find our accommodation (at Neptune Resort – very nice indeed) and to head out to the blues!

So, Friday as it was, was a washout – all outdoor events were cancelled, but we enjoyed each other’s company and returned to our unit reasonably early to drink a variety of IPAs and craft beers, and watch the AFL on television.

We four men in our late 50s have remained tight friends for many years, and we thoroughly enjoy seeing one another. Through serious illness, divorce, family issues involving children, and severe work pressures, we have been supportive, but non-intrusive for each other. In the last couple of years we have used an app to keep in touch, so instead of talking rarely by phone, we can spread our bullshit much more quickly, and in a very timely way.

B is correct; the important part of this weekend each year is not the music. It’s in remaining grounded and having fun with the people who, outside of our immediate families, are probably the most important and influential people in our lives.

As it turned out, we ended up seeing fewer music acts this year than in previous visits. But my highlight was Louie Shelton. To be honest, I had never heard his name before, but I have apparently been listening to his work on so many records over the years when he was playing with other artists, or writing music for them – unbelievable! Anyway, his show in the Broadbeach Mall on Saturday evening was just fantastic. I now have four of his albums (thanks Apple Music).

The day after we all returned home S messaged us all to point out that the dates for next year’s Blues on Broadbeach had been announced. We’re making plans already!