Eric Bibb on the blues, the Bellarine, and the binding of story

The blues has been having a moment.

A constant documenter of historical oppression, heartache, and the healing of holding hope, the blues has returned in full force thanks in part to a widely celebrated cinematic entry, Sinners. Removing the vampiric thread, the story of Sinners is an honest love letter to the genre with breathtaking performances from new Oscar-winning Best Actor Michael B. Jordan, and a star-studded cast. 

“All of that seems very pertinent somehow to the blues and its truth and its part of the American saga. All of that seems to be coming together at the same time that we need the message in it. The fact that it took up so much space at the Oscars speaks volumes to me,” says blues legend and GRAMMY nominee, Eric Bibb. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Eric Bibb (@ericbibbmusic)

The blues appreciation is perfectly positioned for Bibb who is heading back to Australia in celebration of his forthcoming album release One Mississippi. Bibb will perform on the Bellarine to play the inaugural 100 Acres Festival, along with headline shows in Castlemaine, Melbourne, Archies Creek and Upwey this month. With the Bellarine heavily seated as the home of blues in our region, Bibb feels parallel pulses to his craft.

“That’s the beauty of the blues…The blues is a language, is a culture, is from people who have surmounted huge obstacles and oppressions.

That resonates with a lot of people around the world and it certainly resonates with Australians who have their own journey. It’s full of universal truths…and the whole history of Australia resonates and vibrates on a frequency very close to the American southern blues.”

Those universal truths are channelled through One Mississippi. Already hailed as a landmark album in his storied career, the body is veined by a depth of wisdom, with the transfer of story and lesson akin to ancestral lore passed down through generations. 

“To be in a position to be some kind of conduit or channel for ancestral wisdom coming through particularly at this critical time is a real blessing and I feel like I’m in the middle of that river of information and stories, and a way of telling them that is going to impact because for me this is way beyond entertainment or making a record. This is about using my experience to pass on some stories that I think are helpful,” Bibb explains. 

As a magnetic conductor of that information, Bibb has built a career out of assessing what is happening in the world and using it as a force for uniting. At this present time, in the current political climate, as an artist he finds it impossible to ignore the state of the world.  

“It’s ever-present…I want to tell stories that chronicle what is going on because I feel like I’m in the middle of that tradition. It feels natural to me and it feels important. But I also want to remind myself and listeners that at the end of the day what counts is love,” he says.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Eric Bibb (@ericbibbmusic)

“Through my upbringing and the journey that followed that, I’m in a position to pass on something that is deep and rich and old which is a blessing. It’s an amazing privilege to be a bearer of some kind of knowledge and information that is going to help us as always get through challenging times.”

Bibb invites listeners not only into the stories, but into the landscapes of blues birthplace on One Mississippi. The opening lines of the titular track heavily depict the setting that shapes the entirety of the album; a visual excursion that is as clear as a photo.

“I think in pictures. Songs for me are like movies…‘One Mississippi,’ which was written by my high school classmate and friend Janis Ian and co-writer Fred Koller… is incredibly visual, like a triptych or flipbook that tells a story. Her imagery is so rich and it paints the iconic South land which is the setting and cradle of the blues. It spreads like a massive magnolia tree over the album.”

Producer and multi-instrumentalist Glen Scott, a trusted collaborator, helped Bibb explore new creative territory on his 25th studio album.

“Glen has an intuition to tap into places in my wildest dreams that I would like to go, not to be an adventurer but because that direction interests me but I don’t know how to access it. He has a way of providing arrangements and production that tap into my bucket list of the ways I want to present my songs. To be able to have that extended palette beyond what I am capable of…is like a dream world for me.”

For Eric Bibb, the blues is far more than music—it is history, culture, and storytelling, a vessel for human experience. 

“To go there and really absorb the richness of the blues is to really understand what an amazing cosmic gift it is to the world.”

Final tickets to 100 Acres Festival can be picked up here.