Bluesfest Adds More Acts

Jethro Tull and John Legend join the already revealed ZZ Top in the second announcement for Bluesfest 2010.

Others to feature in the second announcement are Gurrumul, Toots & the Maytals, Pete Murray, Wolfmother, Funky Meters, Irma Thomas, Booker T, Los Lobos, Kasey Chambers, Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, Tim Robbins & the Rogues Gallery Band, The Dingoes, Diesel, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, B.B. & the Blues Shack, Joe Louis Walker. Phil Jones & the Unknown Blues, The Snowdroppers, Ray Beadle, Nat Cole & The Kings and Barrence Whitfield.

These acts can now be added to the previously announced collection that included Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Cat Empire, Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Aaron Neville, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Fistful of Mercy, Mavis Staples, Xavier Rudd, Trinity Roots, Kate Miller-Heidke, Washington, Little Bushman, Tony Joe White, Indigo Girls, Eric Bibb, Ash Grunwald, Ruthie Foster, C.W. Stoneking, Jeff Lang, Saltwater Band, and RocKwiz Live.

The ever effusive Bluesfest promoter Peter Noble stated, “Our second announcement really takes Bluesfest 2011 to another level: The beautiful tones of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu will truly light up the festival – and this is exclusive, you won’t see him perform anywhere else. We also have the reggae royalty of Toots & the Maytals, the absolute reigning soul queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas, the stunning soul voice of John Legend who has just recorded a killer album with the Roots, the greatest soul Hammond organ player ever in Booker T, and the preeminent Mexican-folk-meets-rock-and-roll band Los Lobos.

“Nowhere else in Australia will you find so many artists who are the best of the best. You’ll see the band that practically invented funk music: the Funky Meters, a jaw-droppingly great German band with the best blues guitar player in Europe – B.B. & the Blues Shack, Joe Louis Walker – one of the last of the great blues guitar heroes with fans including Mick Jagger, B.B. King, and Herbie Hancock, and the pumped up blues and soul of Barrence Whitfield who’s been described as Little Richard meets James Brown

The 22^nd annual Bluesfest is on from Thursday April 21 to Monday April 25, 2011

Dylan Does Byron Bay

Bob Dylan is the headline act for the next edition of the iconic Bluesfest at Byron Bay and the good news doesn’t stop there.

Bluesfest from Byron Bay, Australia’s favourite counter-culture, family-orientated, ethnically and artistically diverse music festival, has announced a whopper of a signature first artist announcement – and it’s the first of many! Tickets are on sale now for Bluesfest – which just won the Australian Event of the Year for Bluesfest 2010 – and festival dates next year over Easter are from Thursday April 21 through to Monday April 25, 2011.

Once again, Bluesfest 2011 offers its passionate fans a very tasty – almost holy – array of simply the best local and international blues and roots music with its renowned blend of multi-genre, multi-demographic and multi-generational sounds.

The first Bluesfest announcement for 2011 includes:

Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Cat Empire, Blind Boys of Alabama featuring Aaron Neville, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Fistful of Mercy, Mavis Staples, Xavier Rudd, Trinity Roots, Little Bushman, Tony Joe White, Indigo Girls, Kate Miller-Heidke, Eric Bibb, Washington, Ash Grunwald, Ruthie Foster, C.W. Stoneking, Jeff Lang, Saltwater Band, and RocKwiz Live.

Queenscliff’s Great Line-Up

The first round of artists for this year’s Queenscliff Music Festival have been revealed as well as a number of exciting, new announcements.The 2010 festival line up when completed will deliver over 80 acts presenting 150 performances in 13 venues across Queenscliff on the weekend of 26-27-28 November.

New Festival Director, Michael Carrucan, has added a new stage called The Crossing Stage, and ensured everything kicks off well with The Lighthouse Stage opening a day earlier to encompass the Friday night.

In an epic summer weekend event that engulfs the whole of the town, Queenscliff Music Festival famously encompasses all types of music – blues, roots, rock, pop, soul/groove, classical, jazz, country, folk, world/reggae and acoustic – accommodating the tastes of young, old and everything in-between, in unexpected venues. This year’s Festival will be no exception with a line up which includes the following artists and shows:

Queenscliffe Music Festival 2010 first line-up announcement

RocKwiz Live
Kate Miller-Heidke
John Williamson
Little Red
Colin Hay
Washington
The Black Sorrows
Ash Grunwald
Mark Seymour
Shawn Mullins
Kaki King
Sally Seltmann
The Vasco Era
Mary Gauthier
Vika & Linda,
Gareth Liddiard
Katie Noonan & The Captains
Dan Kelly’s Dream Band
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Public Opinion Afro Orchestra
Mick Thomas & The Sure Thing
Pikelet.