Blues, Soul & Slide-Guitar Roadshow

Blues, Soul & Slide-Guitar Roadshow

8 Ball Aitken & Taya Chani Band

Two heavyweights of the Australian soul-blues-rock scene 8 Ball Aitken & Taya Chani have teamed up with a new album project ‘Nightbird’. They represented the Blues Association of South-East Queensland at the 2026 International Blues Challenge and made the semifinals. 

8 Ball and Taya’s mutual love for Southern American blues, soul, country and fancy jazz chords brought them together. Whilst on their first Australian tour in 2022, they began co-writing songs. They realised very quickly that they had an album worth if songs and set a studio date.   

The title-track of their ‘Nightbird’ album hit #1 on the Australian AMRAP Regional Charts for two weeks in a row as did their second single ‘Miss You The Most’. The album was #2 for several months in the Australian Blues & Roots Radio Charts. They’re signature harmonies and groovy guitars have proved to be a winning combination Australia-wide. 8 Ball & Taya are releasing a new album and performing their third Australian tour in 2026. 

8 Ball Aitken performed around the world for more than a decade across twenty countries to date. 8 Ball moved to Nashville, Tennessee, USA in 2012 and worked for nine years with many of the best in the blues and roots business today. He won second place in the 2021 International New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival. 

Soul-blues singer Taya Chani released her debut album ‘Restless Heart’ widespread airplay and rave reviews in 2019. In 2023, the duo released their first collaboration, ‘Only Guiding Light’ from album ‘Ice Cream Man 2’ that hit #1 on the Australian Blues & Roots Charts.