With the festival just two weeks away, the committee is excited to see thousands of music lover head into to for the free, three day event.

More than 40 acts will feature over 30 stages between July 24 and 26.

Festival chairman Peter Williams said the festival was one of the biggest in country Victoria.

“We are very excited by it. It’s a free event which is sensational, it’s hard for people to get their head around that sometimes,” he said.

“There are a few things on earlier in the week but on the Friday we get right into it.”

Mr Williams said the festival would host some of Australia’s best blues musicians.

“The biggest challenge is having to reject (musicians),” he said.

“We have a (musician) turn over of about 40 percent, so when people come they will see someone new.

“It’s hard turning them away because they are all good musicians.”

Mr Williams said Benny Walker and Sean McConnell would be two highlights of the festival.

“It’s hard to name individuals because I love them all. There is such a variety of styles,” Mr Williams said.

The Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival began 16 years ago when a group businesses decided to host a winter street event.

“It was the middle July and a bit depressing so we thought let’s do something on a Sunday afternoon,” Mr Williams said.

“Someone said ‘you get winter blues so how about blues music?’.”

A couple of thousand people turned up to the inaugural winter blues festival and since then it has grown substantially.

“It’s a great location and we are lucky because there are a lot of venues,” Mr Williams said.

“Without selling tickets (for the free event) it’s a challenge to estimate numbers but we know how many a people a venue can hold and do a count base don that. We estimated about 16,000 last year.”

The Queenscliff-based Blues Train was scheduled to make a trip from Melbourne to Echuca for the festival this year but a lack of bookings means it has been cancelled.

“It’s very expensive to put on and bookings proved not high enough,” Mr Williams said. “There was quite a deal of interest but we have put it on the backburner.”

The Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival is on from July 24 to 26. For more information log on to www.winterblues.com.au