Something old, something new, and something deadset in the middle.
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Bluesfest 2024 has kicked off the program for next year's festival with the first announcement of 22 acts, headlined by Tom Jones, Jack Johnson, The Teskey Brothers, Peter Garrett and Elvis Costello.
Jones, age 83, last played Bluesfest in 2016. Yet, he remains relevant to the music world, knocking out his 41st album, Surrounded by Time, with 12 cover songs, in 2021, which topped the British charts on release.
Taj Farrant, age 14, makes his debut at Bluesfest 2024. The Australian guitar phenom, with 969,000 Facebook followers, saw his single, Crossroads, released in July top both the US and Australian blues charts.
Jack Johnson, age 48, made his Australian debut at Bluesfest in 2001. He later moved to Byron Bay with his family, before returning to Hawaii. He's sold more than 25 million albums, marked by his signature melodies and beachside acoustic sound.
Other acts coming include Matt Corby, LAB, Tommy Emmanuel, The Dead South, The Paper Kites, Drive-By Truckers, Newton Faulkner, Steve Poltz, 19-Twenty, Erja Lyytinen, Here Come The Mummies, Clayton Doley's Bayou Billabong, Little Quirks, Hussy Hicks, Blues Arcadia and Rockwiz Live.
Ever the optimist, Bluesfest founder and director Peter Noble, is fearless about economic concerns biting into ticket sales.
"I wish I had a crystal ball. We're not going to take backwards step at Bluesfest," Noble said. "That would be a sad day for us. We just want to be a market leader in having the best artists playing.
"When people say, things are tough, I get that," he said. "But, I also look at other things, like the NRL is having its largest attendance this year in the history of the game, over 18,000 a game is the average. Look at the people going out to see major sporting events.
"The competition that we have in Australia is primarily the multinationals bringing in major act after major act and I don't blame the public for wanting to see them. But it's competition at the moment that is making it more difficult for the indies, like me.
"When you get to the economics, we are doing all we can not to have blow-outs on ticket sales. Obviously, if some of the artists we are talking to at the moment confirm, and I'm pretty sure they will, then people who bought a ticket now will say, 'I got a bargain.' "
Jim Kellar
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
