Bluesfest’s Peter Noble acknowledges Easter weekend festival success

Peter Noble, Festival Director of Bluesfest has acknowledged the success of this year’s edition of the event while also highlighting the challenges the industry is facing.

Bluesfest has celebrated a triumphant 35 years of amazing live music, with Noble especially impressed with this year’s event noting “there were brilliant performances every single day of the festival.”

Under Noble’s stewardship, Bluesfest has blazed trails, helped break new talent, reintroduced masters to new audiences, rolled with the punches, adapted to the times and earned pride of place in the hearts and minds of artists and patrons alike to cement its status as one of the world's leading contemporary music festivals.

There's a reason the event is one of Australia's most awarded - from six Australian Event of the Year awards and 10 nominations by industry bible Pollstar, as Best International Festival of the Year, Bluesfest and Peter Noble are renowned for consistent excellence.

Bluesfest is a team sport from the team of paid and volunteer workers to stallholders, crowds and campers, the performing artists and their crews, and the wider musical and local communities.

The reputation of Bluesfest is one built on trust. Trust that the bill will thrill with old favourites, new discoveries, and strange delights. Trust that the team that puts the event together never rests on its laurels.

Noble shared “we’re still calculating the numbers, but we know the attendance for Bluesfest this year was at least the same as in 2023. We have held our position, and as much as we would like to see more people come, it's not going to happen until the interest rates drop. We do ask our government to support our industry until then.

“We all know that the music industry is facing challenges right now. The interest rate rises, intended to curb the disposable dollar spending, have influenced all aspects of the industry except for superstars touring, such as Taylor Swift.”

Beginning with Taj Farrant at the camper’s festival on Wednesday before the event officially started, the festival attracted an array of impressive performances.

Noble added “From the first day to the last, there were so many outstanding performances. It's really difficult to pick anyone out, but I will try. There were discovery artists such as Here Come the Mummies, Sweet Talk, Ben Swissa, who won our Buskers competition last year and within a year is now signed with the William Morris Agency and Island Records.

“Other Standout performances included Erja Lyytinen and The Women of Soul Collective, who received rave reviews. Katie Malua, Drive-By Truckers, Tom Jones, and Tedeschi Trucks Band cemented their reputation as the world's best live music band today.

“Snarky Puppy was brilliant.  There were so many. Of course, we loved Tom Jones, and we counted more than 40 pieces of underwear thrown onto the stage. (See the picture in this press release).

“PJ Morton, a five-time GRAMMY winner, brought positive messages of faith and inspiration. He will be back. Standout artists included Brad Cox, who has already agreed to come back and play Bluesfest next year, the brilliant Yirrmal, and many more. But there will also be many, many brand-new artists next year.

“Peter Garrett's performance was outstanding. The Teskey Brothers followed him, and they were brilliant. And before all of that, Jimmy Barnes was inspirational. Australian artists showed time and time again that they could give international artists a real run for their money and, in many cases, better than.

“It is just a wonderful time to be in the music industry right now and hear tomorrow's superstars, such as19-Twenty, perform.  

“We had legends like Taj Mahal, and younger artists are now establishing themselves as the legends of the future.

“The Bluesfest Busking competition was another resounding success. Via our Busking Competition, we bring unsigned original artists to Bluesfest, showcasing a diverse range of genres, ages and epic talent. This year, we were thrilled to announce The Steele Syndicate as the winner of the Adult competition and The Royals won the Grommet competition.”

Noble has assured fans the event’s future is not in doubt but urges one and all to join the rallying cry for more Federal, State and Local government support for the live music sector.

“Bluesfest will be 125 million per-cent back in 2025. Our Early Bird tickets for Bluesfest 2025 are already selling well”.

Tickets for the four-day Bluesfest 2025 are on sale now.

Images from top: Bluesfest Crowd Credit: Bluesfest Facebook; Bluesfest 2024 Stalls Credit: Somefx; Bluesfest 2024 Food Hall Credit: Joseph Mayers; Bluesfest 2024 Night Stalls Credit: Roger Cotgreave