Bluesfest 2025 is set to be one of the biggest events this year has to offer for music lovers. Originally set to be the final one of its kind, the organisers went all out to put together one of the most incredible lineups an Australian music festival has had to offer. From great musicians such as Xavier Rudd and Kasey Chambers, to household names like John Butler, Crowded House and Hilltop Hoods, the four day long festival did not shy away from a varied array of acts to make sure you’ll be constantly entertained around each corner you turn. Campers have the chance to have multiple different camping experiences that the site has to offer. From a four day VIP Glamping experience to simple on-site camping for two people, the festival accommodates everyone’s budget and different festival experiences. Onsite parking is available from only $25 per day, and the site offers multiple different options for food and entertainment, as well as multiple market and charity stalls for those who need a break from the music and choose to have a slower paced shopping experience.
Byron Bay Bluesfest is widely known to be one of Australia’s best contemporary music festivals since it was founded by Dan Doeppel and Kevin Oxford in 1990 under the name East Coast Blues Festival. It quickly became the cornerstone of the Australian blues and roots music scene running for four days every year over the Easter weekend at ‘The Piggery’. In 1994, Peter Noble joined up with the festival's management team, which led to him eventually taking over sole ownership of the festival in 2008. Under Peter’s leadership, the festival expanded dramatically and eventually had to be moved to a larger and more permanent location, which ended up being the 112-hectare Tyagarah Tea Farm in 2010, which is where the festival is still held to this day. Peter’s leadership marked a major turning point for the festival, as his involvement within the music industry and understanding of diversity broadened the scope of the festival drastically, eventually leading to an event within Bluesfest being introduced in 2014 known as ‘Boomerang Festival’. Boomerang Festival is dedicated to showcasing an array of Indigenous Australian artists and focuses on accurately representing the culture and performance art of the Indigenous people of Australia.
Bluesfest has always had an extremely diverse range of artists, going from the likes of Bob Dylan, B.B King and Paul Simon, to artists such as John Mayer, Kendrick Lamar, and even Hozier. The festival’s knack for bringing in such a wide range of artists only worked in their favour as they attracted more attendees each year with their lineup. This in itself has won the festival multiple different awards, including several Australian Helpmann Awards for Best Contemporary Music Festival. Other great names that have graced Bluesfest’s stages are John Lee Hooker and Taj Mahal. Their performances highlighted a rich blues heritage, bringing authenticity and helping the audience to connect with age-old blues traditions. On the other end of the spectrum, they’ve also had great bands such as The Beach Boys and The Doobie Brothers perform on the Bluesfest stages, to which they appealed to people spanning across multiple different generations. One thing about Bluesfest is that no matter what age group you’re in, there is absolutely something for everyone over the course of the 4-5 days.
Although Bluesfest is a household name, the festival didn’t get to where it is today without multiple setbacks. In its early conception, the original founders realised the difficulty of curating a niche blues festival in Byron Bay, which at the time was a very relatively unknown location compared to how it is today. Convincing big blues acts to play was no easy task, but with the resilience and effort from its founders, the festival slowly began to grow with support from Byron Bay locals and small musicians, eventually growing a high reputation for high-quality performances. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Australian music scene extremely hard, and unfortunately Bluesfest was no exception to the hardships the music scene faced. Australia was quickly hit with a full scale lockdown, causing the festival to be cancelled last minute which ended up resulting in a huge financial loss for the vendors and artists as well as the organisers. 2021 was meant to be the festivals comeback, developing a COVID-safe plan for the attendees, only to be hit with another state-wide lockdown the day before the festival was set to begin. At this point, the future of Bluesfest was on the tilter and caused major financial and emotional distress for everybody involved and left many questioning if they could ever recover from the loss.
Despite all of the odds stacked against it, Bluesfest made a triumphant return in 2022 which marked a huge moment in Australian music history. With safety measures in place, the festival drew in over 100,000 attendees and showcased its resilience, restoring a lot of hope for the future of live music and festivals within Australia. In 2024, Peter Noble announced that the 2025 Bluesfest would be the final one of its kind due to financial pressures and facing challenges of competing against a now very complex live music landscape. However, due to an outpour of support and reflective ticket sales, Noble reversed his decision in December of 2024, stating that he has already started booking acts for 2026. This reversal resulted in a great day for Australian music and has shown that despite the challenging circumstances, Byron Bay Bluesfest always finds a way to navigate through and come out on top.
The history of Bluesfest is one of many struggles and challenges, but the way that the festival has managed to overcome adversity amongst the ever changing landscape of the music industry and a real life pandemic really shows the dedication and care that the organisers and founder put in for the people who attend as well as the artists who perform. Bluesfest’s journey exemplifies that of resilience and is a testament of its adaptability in the face of adversity, and its commitment to the audience and music remains as a beacon of hope for the music scene in Australia as well as music lovers worldwide.
Whether you’re going with a group of friends or walking solo, Bluesfest has something for everyone. Tickets are on sale now from only $130 per adult, so be sure to act fast and secure your spot for an incredible day (or four) out!