Festival Director, Peter Noble OAM, says it’s Bluesfest Byron Bay’s 35th birthday next Easter, and as usual they’ll be rolling out multiple artist announcements over the coming months – here’s a couple of names you might know…
Jack Johnson, Tom Jones, The Teskey Brothers, Matt Corby, L.A.B., Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos, Tommy Emmanuel, The Dead South,The Paper Kites, Drive-by Truckers, Newton Faulkner, Steve Poltz, 19-Twenty, Taj Farrant, Erja Lyytinen, Harry Manx, Here Come The Mummies, Clayton Doley’s Bayou Billabong, Little Quirks, Hussy Hicks, Blues Arcadia and RocKwiz Live. But wait!
There’s also Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Cruel Sea, Taj Mahal (exclusive), Tim Finn, Ian Moss, Rickie Lee Jones, Dan Sultan, The Whitlams Black Stump Band, Coterie, Playing For Change Band, Lisa Hunt’s Forever Soul, Jackie Venson (exclusive), WILSN, Caravana Sun and Women of Soul Collective.
Noble says surfer, artist, filmmaker, humanitarian, and environmentalist Jack Johnson, who first played Bluesfest in 2001 as a virtually unknown artist, will return for one exclusive performance, the only one he is scheduled to play in Australia in 2024.
‘Jack is one of the most loved artists to play Bluesfest, and with over 24,000,000 album sales since we first toured him, we can’t wait to welcome him back. Jack last played Bluesfest in 2019 on our 30th birthday.
‘Welsh national treasure Tom Jones has had over 100 million album sales, and 36 top 40 hits, including “It’s Not Unusual”, “Delilah”, “Sex Bomb”, “Green, Green Grass of Home”, and so many more. The last time Tom Jones played Bluesfest was in 2016, and he had his manager personally contact Bluesfest to ask to return in 2024.
We can’t wait!
‘There are so many other great Australian and International artists coming to perform, including the most requested artist to return to Bluesfest after their show-stopping 2022 performance: The Teskey Brothers. We also have: favourites L.A.B., Elvis Costello, Peter Garrett and Tommy Emmanuel; first-timers and internet sensations The Dead South; Drive-by Truckers are returning after a 15-year absence from our stages; returning by popular demand is 19-Twenty and so many more. Special mention to wunderkind blues guitarist and singer Taj Farrant, who, at the age of 14, has almost one million Facebook followers and just secured the number one single on the iTunes blues chart worldwide; he is going to be a superstar.
‘I am so proud to bring this incredible gathering of the world’s best artists to Bluesfest Byron Bay. Our line-up is shaping up to be one of our best. And we’re just getting started!
‘The Tedeschi Trucks Band was the most requested band by Bluesfest 2023 attendees to perform at our 35th-anniversary festival, so we are thrilled to be able to deliver on such a demand. In two days from now, Tedeschi Trucks Band will be headlining Madison Square Garden in New York. These guys are a big deal! We have Taj Mahal playing exclusively for his tenth time! Taj is a giant of the blues world, with his Blues Hall of Fame membership, his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, and three GRAMMYs.
‘Rickie Lee Jones is one of the greatest songwriters of all time – famed for writing, among others, “The Horses”, which is such an Australian favourite. Talking about Australian favourites, we are so thrilled to have The Cruel Sea reforming and playing again, some 15 years after their last Bluesfest performance.’
Bluesfest 2024 is set to be an extraordinary celebration of music, bringing together a diverse array of artists and genres to create a unique and unforgettable experience for fans of all ages.
Bluesfest is on the Easter Long Weekend from 28 March to 1 April 2024.
Tickets for Bluesfest 2024 are for sale via Moshtix on www.bluesfest.com.au/tickets/.
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