Written and photographed by Deb Kloeden – Rock At Night Australia
Tyagarah Nature Reserve, near Byron Bay
9th – 14th April 2020
Next year’s Byron Bay Bluesfest is promising to be one very special festival. Bluesfest has been nominated for Best International Music Festival along side other festivals such as Glastonbury and Isle Of White Festival, making it one of the best festivals in the world.
Three artist announcements have now been made with one of the strongest line-ups yet. And there are still more bands to be announced.
Headlining will be DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, CROWDED HOUSE, PATTI SMITH and her band, LENNY KRAVITZ, GEORGE BENSON, KOOL & THE GANG and THE GYPSY KINGS.
This will be DAVE MATTHEW’S third visit to Bluesfest. Dave Matthews Band is one of the top grossing, most in demand bands in the world. New Zealand’s CROWDED HOUSE need no introduction. Fronted by the iconic Neil Finn, the band has provided the sound track to most people’s lives. The Godmother of Punk, PATTI SMITH and her Band conquered Bluesfest in 2017 and went on to win the Helpmann Award that year for Best International Contemporary Concert ! Best-selling
author, performance poet & visual artist, Patti Smith’s list of artistic accomplishments is endless. LENNY KRAVITZ has often been described as ‘the last of the great rock stars’. He will be a huge draw card for this festival.
Since 1977, the legendary GEORGE BENSON, is recognised as one of the world’s greatest guitarists, with 10 Grammy Awards under his belt. World renowned Funk band KOOL & THE GANG will bring their horn-driven jazz, soul, R&B, funk and disco to Bluesfest for some hip-swinging fun. THE GYPSY KINGS captured the world’s imagination 25 years ago with their self-titled album and became a genuine phenomenon around the globe. The salsa lovers introduced listeners to a unique, irresistible blend of traditional flamenco styles with Western pop and Latin rhythms.
Australian artists to get excited about include JOHN BUTLER, XAVIER RUDD, THE CAT EMPIRE, ASH GRUNWALD, TROY CASSAR-DALEY, THE WAIFS, GUY SEBASTIAN and many more.
JOHN BUTLER, singer-songwriter, producer and activist has been a member of the Bluesfest family for nearly 20 years. His songs speak of love, activism, wellness and inspiration and through them he sends a message to us all of a more beautiful world. This time around, John Butler will be performing solo and will be featuring his 2018 album, ‘Home’ as well as classic songs from his timeless repertoire.
XAVIER RUDD has been captivating audiences for two decades. His socially conscious indie-folk songs have earned him a huge audience worldwide. THE CAT EMPIRE‘S brand of feel-good, high-energy, smile-inducing, euphoric root- pop always gets the crowd dancing and singing along. Charismatic front man, Felix, always puts on a good show. Local Blues legend ASH GRUNWALD, is loved for his crowd frenzied shows and blistering
guitar playing. He’s been collaborating with some very special people recently, so I wonder if he’ll bring any surprise guests with him.
TROY CASSAR-DALEY’s passion to pen stories about our land and what lies at it’s heart, has been a driving force in his career, encompassing 10 studio albums. He’s bound to draw a huge crowd of country music fans. Seasoned country-roots trio THE WAIFS, are back touring and will bring their classic sing-along favourites to Bluesfest. Singer,
songwriter and producer GUY SEBASTIAN is arguably Australia’s most successful male solo artist. Guy is the only Australian male artist to have ever achieved six number one singles and two number one albums in ARIA chart history. This will be a very special show.
A swag of other artists are returning to Bluesfest. This is one festival that keeps bringing them back. Among those who have played in recent years and
years gone by will be Blues shredder WALTER TROUT, 2019 Bluesfest virgin hits THE WAR & TREATY, Godfathers of Australian
Blues CHAIN, the young musical phenomenon THE MARCUS KING BAND,
American soul and R&B singer, ALLEN STONE, Frank Zappa’s equally zany son DWEEZIL ZAPPA and master class Bluesman JOHN MAYALL.
If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, I suggest you get onto it. This festival sells out.
Tickets are on sale now through bluesfest.com.au/tickets
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From Darkroom to Lightroom in 4 decades.
Deb is aPhotographer, Music Lover, Ex teacher, and traveller.
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