Bluesfest Expands To Melbourne With Massive Line-up
“I’m very, very excited."
Bluesfest has confirmed its 2023 festivities will expand to Melbourne with the announcement of Bluesfest Melbourne.
The beloved Byron Bay festival will venture to Victoria for the very first time next year, taking over Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 8 & 9 with a stacked line-up.
Here’s who graces the first artist announcement:
[IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER]
ASH GRUNWALD | BACKSLIDERS | BUDDY GUY | CHAIN | CHRISTONE ‘KINGFISH’ INGRAM | C.W. STONEKING & HIS PRIMITIVE HORN ORCHESTRA | THE DOOBIE BROTHERS* | ERIC GALES | EUGENE HIDEAWAY BRIDGES | FOOLS | GEOFF ACHISON & THE SOULDIGGERS | GREENSKY BLUEGRASS | HENRY WAGONS | KALEO | KASEY CHAMBERS | KEB’ MO’ | LUCINDA WILLIAMS | MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA | PAOLO NUTINI* | ROBERT GLASPER | SHAUN KIRK | THE SOUL REBELS with TALIB KWELI & GZA | SOUTHERN AVENUE | STEVE EARLE | XAVIER RUDD
*The Doobie Brothers & Paolo Nutini will perform in reserved seat Plenary theatre concerts in their only Melbourne shows.
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“[Bluesfest Melbourne] is something I’ve always wanted to do… 23 years later, we’re actually doing it,” Festival Director Peter Noble, who has joined forces with Melbourne-based music industry veteran Neil Croker to present Bluesfest Melbourne, told The Music.
“I’ve always wanted to do a downtown and so when the right circumstances came about, I jumped at it. I do remember back to the 2019 Bluesfest, it was the last one we got to do before COVID knocked us for a couple of years, and we sold 27,000 [sideshow] tickets in Melbourne. And I’m going, ‘That’s a festival.’
“I’ve got this sneaking suspicion that people in Melbourne just like to go out and hear music.
“I’m very, very excited – I hope you can hear that – because I’ve been wanting to do this for a very, very long time, but had to find the right partner, which I have in Neil Crocker. You always need the right man on the ground.”
The Melbourne debut will see the venue transformed into a full weatherproof festival precinct with multiple indoor theatres and stages, fantastic food and drink, family entertainment and more.
“Who knows how it will grow over the years, but I certainly feel that we are in a venue where we can grow… hopefully it will become as much loved in Melbourne as Bluesfest is in Byron.
“That’s my goal, and all I can do is program it with artists that I think should be able to be successful and find that right mix.
“I like to book events that stretch people’s experiences.”
A range of ticketing options will go on sale next Monday, November 14 at 9am via Ticketmaster. For more details, click here.
Last week Bluesfest Byron Bay added music legend Beck to its already-packed line-up.
“Don’t forget about Bluesfest Byron,” Noble laughed. “If you want the whole enchilada, you’ve got to come to Byron, but what’s going on in Melbourne is a hell of a lot more than an entrée.
“But I just want to say, thank you to everybody who has been to Bluesfest or has been to a Bluesfest show over the years.”
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