The success of the weekend’s ‘final Bluesfest’ has led to the announcement that ‘Bluesfest will be back in 2026’.
‘Festivals are back,’ declared Bluesfest Director Peter Noble today.
‘We’ve had the highest attendance of any Australian festival since pre-COVID at 109,000 attendances – the third-biggest event we’ve done in the history of the festival.
‘We’re the top-selling festival in the country, and we’ve worked hard to get here. That support means Bluesfest fans have kept this dream alive. It’s a clarion call for me. People want this event. People want it to continue.’
The four-day festival saw some of the greatest live performers on the planet and was a virtual sellout, with the biggest-ever opening night crowd pouring through the festival gates from the moment they opened on Thursday.
‘The future is more than alright – it’s in electrifying hands as young Australian artists and busking stage graduates, including Tones and I, who reminded the packed Crossroads tent of her humble beginnings when she pointed to the nearby Buskers stage – the very stage where she first performed at Bluesfest – before delivering a powerhouse set to a sold-out crowd,’ said a Bluesfest spokesperson.
‘Festival Director Peter Noble’s special mentions across the weekend – beyond the headliners – included The Pierce Brothers, the reformation of The Beards, Kim Churchill, Nahko, Fools, Eric Stang, RY X, Sweet Talk, 19-Twenty, Roshani, WILSN, and Clarence Bekker. And honestly, we could almost add every artist to that list.’
Busking comp
Birren – an emerging Indigenous artist and cousin of Budjerah – won the 2025 Busking Competition, and 14-year-old Torin Peat was the grommet winner, offering a glimpse into a future that’s clearly going to be big for both.
‘The finalists showed there is so much incredible young talent coming up, and the standard was as high, or higher than recent years, and sees a big future for both Birren and Torin,’ said Peter Noble.
Tickets for the four-day Bluesfest 2026 are on sale now.
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. 
