Bluesfest 2021 Cancelled, 2022 Event Announced

Another blow comes to the music and arts industry. After being forced to postpone twice in the past four months, Byron Bay Bluesfest has now been cancelled for the second year in a row due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

The four-day music festival was originally scheduled for April 2021, then pushed back to October, and is now rescheduled to take place over Easter 2022 (April 15-18).

Bluesfest Festival Director Peter Noble OAM said in a statement:

"It is obvious that we cannot present Bluesfest in a safe manner in October, so we have rescheduled back to our usual timing with dates over the Easter Long Weekend next year; a time we expect things to be returning to normal.”

The majority of the artists billed to play this year’s festival have signed on to play Bluesfest 2022, including the likes of Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Pete Murray, Kasey Chambers, John Butler and Xavier Rudd. Fat Freddy’s Drop, Troy Cassar-Daley, John Williamson, C.W. Stoneking and RocKwiz Live have also joined the line-up.

Noble added, “We are a resilient bunch. We have worked so hard since May 2019 to make Bluesfest happen and, guess what, we are not giving up. We are immensely proud of who we are: we are proud of the Bluesfest name and what that represents, immensely proud, and we are already looking forward to Easter.

“I thought this decision would be hard to make, but it was the reverse. The safety and protection of our loyal Bluesfesters, our festival staff, our performers, our volunteers, stallholders and suppliers is paramount, and I will not put anyone at risk right now. So, the decision to re-schedule was a ‘no-brainer’," he said.

Noble also urged ticket holders to retain their passes and roll them over to Bluesfest 2022.

“I promise you will not be disappointed. As soon as this outbreak is over and we are out of lockdown safely, then I will be announcing the incredible new names joining our line-up, and then you can make an informed decision. Rest assured, we will continue to offer refunds until after the new artist announcement.”

Bluesfest will take place from Friday 15^th April to Monday 18^th April 2022 at the Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah, NSW.

For more information, head to the Bluesfest website.  

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Image: via www.bluesfest.com.au