More than 15,000 people attended the three-day festival in July.

Campaspe Economic Development and Tourism spokesperson Paul Jarman said the festival helped keep the winter blues away.

“We may have experienced a cold winter but we can always rely on the annual Winter Blues Festival to warm the hearts of locals and visitors with great entertainment over three days,” Cr Jarman said.

“More than 40 of Australia’s best blues musicians performed at this year’s event in the perfect backdrop of the historic Port of Echuca.

“It’s not surprising that the festival has built a huge following over the years. It’s free to attend and patrons can walk from venue to venue to see their favourite artists.

“Events such as the Winter Blues Festival also have a positive impact on the Campaspe economy. Many people come to play and stay which is great news for local traders, restaurants, places of accommodation and the tourism sector as a whole.”

The council also surveyed 249 festival patrons to assess economic impacts and help with future planning.

The survey found that 67 per cent of attendees had been to the festival before and that 68 per cent of people came from outside the Shire of Campaspe for the festival.

More than 90 percent of non-local patrons stayed at least one night and spent an average of $535 during their time at the festival. The average length of stay was 2.66 nights.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is the best), 27 per cent of surveyed people rated the festival 10/10, 39 per cent rated it 9/10 and 24 per cent rated it 8/10.

The Winter Blues Festival is in its 16th year and shows no signs of slowing down.

Music lovers enjoyed 40 acts over 30 stages at the three-day festival.

This year Chris Wilson, Ian Collard and the Lachey Doley Group were among the festival highlights.

For more information log on to www.winterblues.com.au