And before we knew it, the final day of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 was upon us. Jon Stevens was up early, and brought the hits from his days fronting The Noiseworks and dipping into his time with INXS. There were plenty in the crowd who had come on Monday specifically for this. The legendary Bonnie…
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We rolled into day four of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 full of beans for the day ahead. Rockwiz is a perennial favourite at the festival, with Brian Nankervis and Julia Zemiro dishing up the laughs and giving the crowd their chance at 15 minutes of fame. The special guests included Chris Cheney (The Living End)…
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Day 3 of Bluesfest 2023 was dominated by the legend that is Buddy Guy. He has been to the festival many times over the years, and 2023 has been pegged as his final visit. His performance did not disappoint. He was playful and thoroughly entertaining. The humour was complemented by his mastery of the…
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Day two of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 was a cracker. It was well worth getting to the festival early, as one of the highlights was Southern Avenue who ripped up the Juke Joint just after midday. Their mashup of gospel, blues and R&B had us dancing and blowing away the cobwebs. Southern Avenue Over at…
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The 33rd edition of the Byron Bay Bluesfest kicked off at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay yesterday and needless to say, the excitement was fever pitch. Once through the gates, there was no time to waste to catch as much of the action from Day 1 as possible. Bob Marley’s music lives on through…
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The first Bluesfest announcement dropped today, with some impressive names from Australia and abroad named as being Byron Bay bound next Easter. Leading the roster is Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, while the likes of Lionel Richie, Tash Sultana, The John Butler Trio and more all set to appear. Bluesfest will once again be taking place at the Tyagarah…
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A hip hop pioneer, an Australian country music legend and more have been added to the 2017 Bluesfest line up, while the full playing schedule has now also been made available! Joining on for the Easter Weekend festival is Nas, who will be joining up with New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels for an exclusive Australian…
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Following on from the announcement that Courtney Barnett will be performing her only scheduled theatre show for the year in support of Patti Smith and Her Band in Melbourne, Bluesfest has now revealed that the Melbourne songwriter and performer will be heading to Byron Bay for a special festival show on Easter Thursday this year. 2016 was…
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Adding some more flavour to the 2017 Bluesfest Byron Bay line up is the addition of Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb as an equal headliner on the bill alongside Neil Young + Promise of the Real. The only surviving member of the band, Gibb will be in Australia performing for the first time in a decent while, with his new…
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A huge reveal for Bluesfest Byron Bay this morning with the iconic Neil Young + Promise of the Real set to join the line up next April, playing an epic three hour set out in Byron Bay. Joining an already stacked line up of international players, this addition has made the idea of spending Easter Weekend out at the Tyagarah Tea…
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It’s been two years since we last saw them, but boy are we glad that the Zac Brown Band will be returning to our shores! Not only are they confirmed as one of the headliners for the 28th Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest next year, but they will be having two special shows in Sydney and Melbourne. With…
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Thank you, Bluesfest lords. The second announcement for the 2017 event is here, with some of our favourite internationals set to come through Byron Bay for some special shows over the Easter weekend. Mary J. Blige, Michael Kiwanuka, Corinne Bailey Rae and more have been announced today on the Bluesfest bill, as tickets for the multi-day festival continue to…
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To say I’ve been anticipating the return of The Decemberists for some time is an understatement. Since first seeing the Portland, Oregon group in Canada almost ten years ago, I’ve jumped at every chance to see the band live. When first in Australia for Big Day Out in 2010, I was lucky enough to catch…
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Five full days of music will wear even the most vehement live music fanatic thin. Byron Bay Bluesfest is always a big ask for those who are up to the task, but the ones who stick it out for the entire Easter Weekend are rewarded with some of the best, most profoundly satisfying live music…
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With this year’s Byron Bay Bluesfest in the bag, our team has returned back to Sydney and Brisbane full of highlights from the epic Easter Weekend of live music that brought together everything from hip hop to jazz, blues to country and almost everything in between. Larry, Andrew and Chris give us their picks of…
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You know you’re getting older when the prospect of a punctual show beginning at 8:30pm sharp is actually as endearing as the artist themselves. I could be home by 11pm on a weeknight? Sign me up. Noel Gallagher returned to Adelaide last night with his band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, for possibly the only Bluesfest…
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Since 2009, Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real have been touring and releasing music to an ever-growing fan base around the globe. For Nelson, music has been in his blood ever since a young age, touring with his father Willie Nelson early on, developing his own style along the way. The band, notable for performing…
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Shakey Graves. Easily a performer you must see live if you ever get the opportunity. With a tight band behind him, the Austin bred musician is becoming a name more and more people are switching on to when they want their Americana music delivered via a fusion of rich blues, rock n roll and folk. The…
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Legendary blues musician Eugene Hideaway Bridges sat down with us at Bluesfest this year to give us the lowdown on how this trip to Australia had been treating him so far! A favourite out this way, Bridges’ endearing and charming live presence brought rave reviews from punters who were able to catch him both at the…
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Grace Potter returned to Byron Bay triumphant, bringing her new album Midnight to Bluesfest crowds and bringing it hard. Rocking out on stage throughout the Easter Weekend, the American musician came out swinging with this new material, showcasing more development within her musicianship and a brilliant new live show. Potter caught up with Larry backstage during the…
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Bluesfest favourite Allen Stone enjoyed another successful run of shows out in Byron Bay over the Easter Weekend; an incredible live performer and a general great dude to deal with on and off stage, the AU caught up with the US artist to see what’s been happening since we last saw him. With a new album…
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Kamasi Washington‘s run of Australian shows recently, both headline, festival (for Bluesfest) and supporting Kendrick Lamar have earned rave reviews and have won the Cali jazz maestro a legion of new fans. His album The Epic demonstrated a music talent that took contemporary music fans by storm last year and with these live shows continuing to highlight…
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The fifth and final day of Bluesfest 2016 played heavy on nostalgia, with a double-bill headliner in Brian Wilson and Tom Jones, while some of the festival’s favourite returning acts kept the quality consistent throughout the day in the lead-up to a site-closing blues extravaganza by supergroup The Original Blues Brothers Band, who brought an…
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If you were to judge the success of a band solely on their name, it would be safe to say a Cold War Kids gig would probably be quite a drawn out, relatively uneventful experience. Luckily you tend to judge a band on their music and live capabilities, so in this case, Cold War Kids…
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Lord Huron have stuck out as one of the highlights of this year’s Bluesfest line up down in Byron Bay and it’s no wonder – a blistering live show littered with stage charm and an endearing presence that can only really be learned through years of honing their craft, the band won many new fans on…
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Cold War Kids are back in Australia, hitting our festival scene once again with a killer live show at Bluesfest in Byron Bay overnight. Larry sat down with vocalist Nathan Willett on site at the festival to catch up on what’s been happening with the band since we last saw them out this way a few Falls Festivals ago…
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Maybe I’m just a real music nerd but when I walk into a room, or in this case Sydney’s Metro Theatre, and see a full brass section, I know I’m going to be frothing later on in the night. Walking into the Metro and seeing the full stage set up of St. Paul & The…
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Every year, Easter in Australia means one thing for music fans: Bluesfest. The annual Byron Bay festival bringing some of the finest acts from around Australia and the world to the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm just outside of Byron – and this year the lineup is without question their finest in years. From the contemporary…
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Noel Gallagher is roughly halfway through making his third Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds album and so far, he’s fairly satisfied with the material that’s been flourishing in recent studio sessions. As a songwriter, Gallagher is approaching the creation of this new album in a way he’s not done before – entering the process empty…
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Once again, the team behind Byron Bay Bluesfest have gone and delivered. With only seven weeks to go before their 2016 event kicks off at the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Bluesfest have named yet more artists to their expansive and impressive line up. Joining the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Tom…
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