The 24th Dubbo Jazz Festival will get under way this afternoon and one of the first acts to hit the stage at Club Dubbo will be local band the Footwarmers.
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Made up of veteran musicians from across the region, the Footwarmers are inextricably linked to the festival because they formed in 2003 to be part of it.
They were involved in every festival until 2012 but after a brief absence, they are back and looking forward to entertaining the crowds.
"We formed the band in 2003 to play at this festival and other events but everyone involved has been playing for longer than that," drummer Ross Tighe said.
"I'm very interested to see the line up for this year's festival. There are a couple of bands that are coming with big wraps and that is always exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing the Fedoras, Moochers Inc and Greg Bumbleton. I haven't seen them before."
Ross was heavily involved in the organisation of the event when it established itself as one of the biggest jazz events in NSW and he was hopeful the event would return to similar heights.
"I was the secretary for 15 years and the coordinator for 12. The festival rose to great heights and at it's peak it was rated in the top three on the eastern seaboard," he said.
"The new organisers are getting in and having a go and that's really good to see. I wish them every success with it."
The Footwarmers is made up of Tighe, his brother Terry who plays the tenor and soprano saxophones, Stan Kenton on the double bass, Bruce Johnson playing the trumpet, John Pike working the clarinet and Steve Jewell and Jim Mills sharing duties on the piano for the weekend.
"It's foot tapping, bright music. There's a lot of variations but that is what has kept it popular. The good thing about jazz is you will never see someone at a concert who isn't enjoying themselves," he said.
Jazz is predominantly popular with older generations but Ross is confident the genre still has a bright future.
"The main following of jazz is people in their 50s and over but jazz has been around for a long time and in the 1950s there was a major revival, led by Graeme Bell, which took place right at a time when rock was dominating," he said
"There are thousands of children in schools bands who are playing jazz, whether it is big band or swing. There aren't too many schools who don't have a band so I think it will always be round.
"Just how popular it will be is hard to say, but there could be another revival like the 50s."
The Footwarmers will be in action at the Club Dubbo Basement tonight from 6pm and again tomorrow from 1pm.
Club Dubbo will host a number of musicians between today and Sunday with the Dubbo Golf Club and a number of other venues also hosting artists during the three days.
