Is there a direct connection between growing up in Dumfries, Scotland on one hand and, on the other, the style of music called “blues”?

Well, one connection is Robert McCreath.

Rob and his wife, Sally, ran a dairy farm in Scotland for eight years.

Then, in 1994, with three children, they moved to Queensland’s Darling Downs where, for 23 years, they grew crops and ran beef cattle.

But climate change prompted Rob and Sally to move further south, to Tasmania, to the Deloraine area.

Here, they farm beef cattle on a former tree plantation as well as make Shelduck oat cakes – which may be bought at the local market.

While living in Queensland, Rob was introduced to civil disobedience and the ideas of Mahatma Gandi.

He also came to enjoy the music of Nina Simone and joined a four-year campaign hoping to prevent a mining development.

Here, in Tasmania, he loves the climate, the clean air and water and the friendly people.

And, while driving his tractor, he has time to listen to radio, in particular, the local radio station, MVFM.

Rob has always loved music, increasingly “the blues”.

And, while he was driving his tractor and listening to MVFM, he came to the realisation that the station had no program dedicated to blues music.

So, being the man of action that he is, he contacted the station and offered to present a blues program.

His first program was aired in January and “MV Blues” is now a popular part of the station’s identity.

He even has regular listeners as far away as UK and Singapore.

One of the great advantages for Rob is the fact that the station has an impressive library of all kinds of music, so he has plenty from which to choose.

His program hits the airways on Friday evenings from 9 p.m. and Tuesdays from 8 p.m.

He chooses music which is both relaxing and upbeat.

He even incorporates desert blues from the Sahara, thanks to Malian Ali Farka Toure.

Some of the other interestingly named performers are Lightnin Hopkins, Hound Dog Taylor and Sleepy John Estea, a farmer who sometimes falls asleep on stage.

By the way, the mining development didn’t go ahead.