ORGANISERS of the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival have been left with a sense of achievement after seeing the event off for the final time.
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The 10th and final year of the four-day music event went off without a hitch, leaving festival director Colin Thompson grateful to those who had supported the BBRMF over its 12 years.
"Mine and (partner) Amy's gratitude for the support given us over the years by the City of Greater Bendigo, our sponsors and partner venues, as well as the advocacy and assistance of all who've ever reached out to help us with this beast of an event, can never be overstated," he said.
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"It was never a commercial venture, it was always a community festival, but one I can safely say punched well above its weight for over a decade.
"It wouldn't have done that without the help of hundreds of crew, partners and supporters over the years."
Highlights of the 2022 festival were led by Goanna and Colin Hay who performed to sold out crowds as well as the countless venues that hosted large audiences over the four-day event.
"There are always some events within the program you wish could've had bigger attendances, but so far, all the feedback we've had from venues has been positive, some overwhelmingly so," Thompson said.
"We had solid crowds at Rosalind Park. Handle Bar was at capacity all four days, Hustler was a bustling hub of fun and Bull Street Live, while not at capacity, had solid crowds and the Bridge Hotel's street party was at or near capacity all weekend.
"We're still gathering reports and feedback and won't know the whole picture properly until later in the week though, so it's a hard question to answer accurately and fully."
Thompson said he took a lot of pride from being at the helm of the festival since its inception in 2010.
"(I'm) relieved it went so well and proud of the community within a community that has made this thing happen, since we started working on it in 2010 through 2022," he said.
"As tired as we all were, working on it as volunteers in our 'spare time' we got there, we achieved what we set out to achieve and now we can look back on the last 10 festivals over 12 years (as well as all the smaller events we've staged or supported in between) with a great deal of pride and gratitude."
Thompson also didn't rule out the festival returning one day but said some aspects would have to change.
"There are a lot of factors that would need to fall into place to see that happen, but I guess you can never say never,' he said. "It might come back in a few years within a different model, or it might be the same.
"But it won't be able to happen unless we could make it pay a wage to a director, programmer or administrator as well as suitable fees to a graphic designer, marketing crew and others.
"It's an incredible amount of work to remain an unpaid hobby. In the meantime, I'll keep working at Bendigo Bank with my loved colleagues there and keep staging, promoting, organising - and sometimes playing - gigs on the weekends and enjoy more genuine down time with my family as well."
Despite Bendigo's calendar losing a major event, Thompson said he will still be active in the city's music scene.
"We love supporting and engaging in live music way too much to stop," he said.
"We'll continue running The Blues Tram for as long as Bendigo Tramways are happy to keep partnering with us. We'll continue staging concerts at The Old Church on the Hill.
"I'll continue working with a number of local venues to help out with the live music component of their business. I'll keep booking music for other events who ask me for help.
"I hope to play drums with my friends in the bands I play with till my hands are too buggered to hold sticks.
"Most of all, myself and my family look forward to sitting back and enjoying live music as punters, with everyone else, more than we've been able to do over the last decade. That's very important to us."
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