ANOTHER SRI LANKAN IN THE SPOTLIGHT

(Source: the Island)

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Sri Lanka-born Andrea Marr is, once again, representing Australian blues on the world stage at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN – The Home Of The Blues – in January 2019.

This came about after she won the Melbourne Blues Challenge, on Sunday, September 9th, 2018, with her new duo McNaMarr Project, where she performs with singer/guitarist John McNamara. The last albums of both artistes hit #1 on the Blues, Soul and R&B airplay charts in Australia and the USA, getting rave reviews worldwide.

Their two albums, together, garnered seven nominations at the Australian Blues Music Awards. US blues promoter Frank Roszak suggested the two artistes start working together and they did their first gig in May this year.

Writing a stack of new duets has brought this act quickly to the attention of the Australian blues scene and won them the title of ‘Blues Performer Of The Year’ 2018.

John McNamara is an exceptional vocalist, guitarist and songwriter whose voice has been compared to the late great Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, and Andrea Marr often gets compared to the likes of Tina Turner, Gladys Knight and Sharon Jones.

Andrea Marr has been making music for a long time. She moved to Australia, with her family, in 1984 – her father was the great jazz bass player, Elmo Mulholland, and her uncle was Errol Mulholland, also a great jazz bassist.

Andrea has twice represented Australia in Memphis TN in the International Blues Challenge and her band reached the semi-finals in 2013 with some of the biggest blues acts in the world today. She is often compared in style to Sharon Jones, Etta James, Tina Turner and Gladys Knight for her soulful, raw style.

A music teacher by day, she has been teaching singing and songwriting at the Andrea Marr Music School for over two decades and still continues to do so – offering her students the chance to not only learn to sing, but giving them opportunities to do paid gigs, write and release their own music and get their music on the radio the same way she has.