FRIDAY NIGHTS AT THE Q.

CHRIS FINNEN (born December 24, 1952) is a blues guitarist and singer from Adelaide.

He had begun playing guitar as a child and was attracted to the blues before he reached his teens. Chris jumped on stage as a precocious 15 year old to jam with Billy Thorpe and later The Loved Ones!

After playing professionally for some time he also began singing, his light, high-pitched voice offering an unusual take on his blues repertoire, which was broad based, drawing in music as diverse as that of Indian, Celtic and Native American origins. Finnen blended these forms around a blues core. Finnen, who also plays percussion, lived and worked in Melbourne, Darwin and Perth before choosing to settle in Adelaide. In the 70s he led the Chris Finnen Offering and in the late 80s he began an association with the Indo-fusion band, Indian Pacific, working with singer Dyah Singh, and he has also played with Colin Offord’s Great Bowing Company.

Recognition for Finnen’s work has brought him national and regional guitar awards and 1995 saw him inducted into the SAMIA Hall of Fame. In the early 00s, Finnen was still touring to considerable acclaim, appearing solo and with his Blues Band, members of which have included bass players Dirk Dubois and Michael Winter and drummer John Freeman. He has also worked with Phil Manning and Matt Taylor and in duo with guitarist Joe Lang and with Sherilee Hawkins. Chris performed for the Dalai Lama in 2005, was a guest of the International Expo in Nagoya, Japan, and has shared the stage with some of the world's best, including Buddy Guy, Bo Didley, Jimmy Witherspoon, Roy Buchanan, Eric Burdon, Keb Mo, Bob Brozman, Johnny Copeland, The Holmes Brothers, John Mayall, and Mavis Staples. He has worked in Australia with Matt Taylor, Phil Manning, Dutch Tilders, Margaret Roadnight, Jeff Lang, Kevin Borich and Colin Offord.

In 2013, Chris was nominated for a pride of Australia Medal for his work in community and mentoring and he was also Inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. In 2014 he was inducted Adelaide Music Collective Hall of Fame, became patron of the South Australian Blues and Roots Association, performed with long-time friend Phil Manning at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival and won the Derringers Music Blues Awards Outstanding Instrumentalist.

CARL ORR

Fresh from a sellout concert at the Adelaide Guitar Festival,guitarist/ composer Carl Orr is now residing back in Adelaide after 4 decades of making a name for himself around the world. He has been a professional musician since 1980, and has performed and recorded with some of the finest musicians in the world including Billy Cobham, George Duke, Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Bennie Maupin, Don Grusin and pop stars Roisin Murphy, Marcia Hines, Lulu and Anastacia. Additionally, Carl worked with Sting on the 2018 UK tour of his musical show “The Last Ship”.

A prolific composer, Berklee-educated Carl has recorded ten albums and he also is featured on albums by Billy Cobham and others. He is currently releasing tracks from his digital-only album “Carl Orr plays The Beatles” through Metropolitan Groove Merchants. Carl has a broad range of musical interests and his compositions manifest the influence of jazz, funk,pop, classical and rock and traditional music from around the world.

In 2017 he was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall Of Fame. Carl has performed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club over 300, times where he has jammed onstage with the likes of Jacob Collier, Mike Stern, Marcus Miller and Nigel Kennedy.

Carl has played at many of the world’s leading jazz festivals including Montreux, North Sea, Kuala Lumpur and Vittoria/Gasteiz. “Carl Orr is a great guitarist” Sting “Carl Orr plays his ass off” MIke Stern(ex-Miles Davis guitarist)