Bluesfest’s fifth artist announcement sees Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, supergroup Infectious Grooves, Katie Melua and The Waifs add weight to the already hefty lineup.
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals will be playing exclusively for Bluesfest, and Infectious Grooves is a supergroup that includes Robert Trujillo (Metallica) on bass, Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies) on vocals, Jay Weinberg (Slipknot) on drums, Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) on guitar, and Dean Pleasants (Suicidal Tendencies) on guitar.
Also at Bluesfest, the best-selling British and European female artist of the 2000s, Katie Melua, returns to Australia for the first time in almost 20 years, and Aussie favourite Brad Cox, who won a Golden
Guitar for ‘Top Selling Country Album of the Year’ last year.
Other artists included in the fifth artist announcement are: Yirrimal, Dirty Honey, Jerome Williams, Ben Swissa, eMDee, Perry Street Park, and Da Manager.
Festival Director, Peter Noble OAM, says, ‘It’s the events 35th birthday and it’s going to be hot. Not only is Bluesfest the most highly–awarded festival in Australia, but it is also the only Australian festival to be nominated nine times in the “Best International Music Festival” category, by Pollstar Awards (USA). Bluesfest has also been recognised as one of the top-10 festivals of the decade, worldwide by industry bible Pollstar in 2021.’
‘There is simply no other festival quite like Bluesfest.
‘For our fifth and (probably not) final artist announcement, we are proud to present the artist who has done more to bring Bluesfest to the masses, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, for their first performance in Australia in five years. Ben first played Bluesfest in 1996.
‘Another genre-bending artist announcement is Infectious Grooves. They are a true funk punk supergroup.’
There’s so much more to see and do at Bluesfest.
www.bluesfest.com.au.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
