Mandy Nolan & Eve Jeffery
It was a Santana sandwich at the Crossroads last night when thousands of fans gathered up to 50 metres outside of the tent to groove along with the musician who first became famous in the late 1960s.
At 69 Carlos Santana continues to create waves with his signature fusion of rock and Latin American Music with the capacity audience vibing good naturedly to the long flowing jams.
‘The real stars of Bluesfest are the audience,’ says Festival director Peter Noble. ‘The audiences have lifted the performers, and the performers have lifted the audience.’
After the weeks of wild and devastating weather that led up to this iconic music festival, Blues has enjoyed sunny days and mild nights. A relief, considering the challenges that were present just a few short weeks ago when flood waters made much of the region impassable.
Chocolate aside, there were tonnes of great reasons to enjoy Easter Sunday across Tyagarah. Nikki Hill without fail presented yet another incredible set, and Remi had everyone bouncing at Jambalaya. Madness were just that and so far take the award for best sing-a-long (though Buddy Guy comes close).
Speaking of Buddy Guy: DAYAM!!!
Heart cradler of the day was definitely Michael Kiwanuka whose gentle soul soothed the ravages of choc overload and calmed everyone back down to earth, and peace, and love…
Monday April 17 is the fifth and final day of Bluesfest. Punters have enjoyed world class music rubbing shoulders with a few celebrities along the way, with actors Chris Helmsworth, Patrick Wilson and Jason Mamoa, aka Drogo from of Game of Thrones making an appearance and Matt Damon and his wife being spotted dancing up front to the Lumineers.
While the rich and famous may be slipping through the crowds, this is a festival of the people with thousands returning to close the festival today with headliners Zac Brown Band, Beth Hart, Neil Finn, Kasey Chambers and St Paul and The Broken Bones just to name a few.
More stories from Bluesfest 2017
Police praise festivalgoers… except drug-using ‘element’
Police have praised festivalgoers attending this year’s Bluesfest but condemned what they called ‘an element that persists in bringing illicit drugs to festivals.’
A sunny (yay) Sunday at Blues
It was a Santana sandwich at the Crossroads last night when thousands of fans gathered up to 50 metres outside of the tent to groove along with the musician who first became famous in the late 1960s.
Patti Smith puts money where her mouth is to help flood...
Iconic New York poet and performer Patti Smith not only gave the audience more than they bargained for during her weekend performances at Bluesfest, she also donated $10,000 to northern rivers appeal Rise Above The Flood.
Blues gets down on hump day
The middle day of Bluesfest is always a bit spesh – punters have relaxed into the groove and the artists are hitting their stride…
Patti Smith rocks Bluesfest with ‘anarchic spunk’
After weeks of weather chaos that saw roads blocked, planes grounded and low lying fields flooded, Bluesfest got off to a smooth and inclement weather free start last night when thousands made their way to 28th annual Blues and Roots Festival.
We got dem Byron Bay Blues
It felt like first-day Bluesfest numbers were up as the carpark bulged and punters "tapped-on" their new wristbands at high speed…
