By DOMINIC FEAIN
Byron Bay’s Bluesfest hit full stride yesterday, following a cracker opening night on Thursday, and the heavens responded in kind.
Let’s face it, it just wouldn’t be Bluesfest without the rain.
While it certainly wasn’t the 100mm organisers had promised would drain off faster than a heavy metal anthem, it did pour down.
But that didn’t deter the hundreds of punters spilling out three sides of Crossroads stage where Rodriguez had just won over a new generation of fans. The crowd knew most of the words to his classic 1970 album, Cold Fact, and weren’t afraid to sing them. It was spine-tingling stuff.
On the flip-side, it was yet another classic Bluesfest audience – relaxed, intelligent and forgiving – offering musicians the kind of reception that has elicited some extraordinary live performances over the years, and earned the festival an international reputation among artists second to none in Australia.
As always, the wealth of talent on the bill gave punters more than a few logistical conundrums.
Last night music lovers had to contend with Robert Cray, the Steve Miller Band and crowd favourites, the Snowdroppers, all in-form and playing roughly the same time slot as Rodriquez.
And the same conundrums continued late into the evening. Santana thrilled the crowd with a consummate performance while Trombone Shorty and Wanda Jackson delivered equally satisfying sets on adjacent stages.
But too much good music is hardly a criticism and the buzz among the all-ages crowd this year seems way up on previous years – which is reflected in the ticket sales where records are being set. Thursday was possibly one of the best opening days on record, with numbers coming in just shy of capacity, and both Friday and today are completely sold out. This will explain the frequency of simultaneously full-tents this year.
Today the headliners shift it up a gear with the legendry former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant taking over the Mojo stage while his more infamous contemporaries, Iggy and the Stooges, seize the the Crossroads stage. While many have come to Bluesfest for just one of these guys alone, few appear to have come for both. Perhaps the organisers weren’t so ill-advised scheduling the two together.
But again there’s a treasure trove of legends (and discoveries yet to be made) buried in the thick of the day’s program with artists like Christine Anu, Mark Seymour, Status Quo, Taj Mahal and the Beasts of Bourbon filling out the field.
Again the organisers have excelled themselves fine tuning an already slick program even further. The queues for drinks, food and the toilets have mostly been manageable while the sound quality remains good across all stages. Lengthy delays exiting the northern car park around midnight sparked more than a few frustrated threads on internet forums and social media asking why the problem hadn’t been resolved, this being the third year at the site. Organisers assured festival-goers it was simply a case of too many vehicles leaving at once.
“If everyone leaves at the same time it’s going to bottleneck … grab a cuppa and relax, leave before or after the rush,” the spokesperson said.
A happy festival director Peter Noble said this year was looking likely to be as big as the Bob Dylan year. One just hopes the big names don’t disappoint like some thought Dylan did. But that’s the thing about Bluesfest, no matter what there’s always a silver lining somewhere on the bill.
The festival continues till Monday when Paul Simon closes the bill on the Mojo stage. Intermittent showers are forecast throughout the weekend.
Visit Bluesfest Byron Bay Official Website here!
