It's arrived: The Bluesfest site map
24 February 2010
Can you feel time flying? It's now just 35 days to go until the Bluesfest 21st Anniversary celebration festival… and what fun, excitement and incredible music awaits us all!
Red Devil was rad, Belongil was beaut, but TYAGARAH is TRANSCENDENT!
By now you all know, we're finally on our own site for Bluesfest 2010 at the breathtaking Tyagarah Tea Tree farm, just 12 minutes north of Byron Bay.
As you can see from this picture, the site is truly beautiful! As Festival Director Peter Noble says, "This is history in the making. While we had to work around existing sites at Belongil and Red Devil Park, now we can really customize our own site based on knowing what works from our 20 years Bluesfest experience. This means the festival experience will work even more for you! This week four bridges go in and I can definitely say we are ready for an amazing Bluesfest 2010 at Tyagarah now."
We are proud to finally bring you a map of the site. No more guessing where everything is, it is all there for you. Our new home is bigger (with a lot more camping room), but you won't have to walk any further to get between all of the stages.
Take a look at the amazing site and event map by clicking on the links below:
More news about coming to Bluesfest:
Remember, Thursday is traditionally the quietest and most relaxed day and night at Bluesfest. So it's a great chance to see major artists like Jack Johnson, Ozomatli, The Avett Brothers and Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra (their only Bluesfest show) and many more artists in a more chilled out setting.
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Tickets for camping space at our new home at Tyagarah continue to sell fast and are a hot item, so make sure you reserve your spot before they all go - Saturday one night camping is close to capacity!
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Did we mention the weather? The long range forecast is looking good, so fingers crossed. Also, there are still a few Tent Motels up for grabs, we managed to find room for more - buy yours now.
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VIP Saturday and Sunday Single Day tickets are now sold out! But Thursday, Friday and Sunday Single Day VIP tickets are still on offer, plus Limited 5 Day and 3 Day VIP tickets are still available - all can be purchased here.
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For this e-news edition, we'd like to also update you on the musicians who are playing exclusively at Bluesfest. This means that a certain number of major artists can only be seen at Bluesfest, so if you're waiting for sideshow tickets to go on sale for these guys - well, it ain't gonna happen folks!
The following artists will not be playing anywhere else but Bluesfest: Jack Johnson, Crowded House (except in Perth), John Butler Trio, Galactic featuring Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers), Donavon Frankenreiter, and Fat Freddys Drop.
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What can you say about this inspiring artist and one of the icons of our event, who was introduced to Australia via Bluesfest in 2002? Jack's exclusive 2010 Bluesfest appearances signal his return to Australia for his first performances since March 2008, and mark his first Bluesfest appearances since 2005. With over 15 million albums sold worldwide, Jack remains an incredibly down to earth and admirable person - and someone who embodies the spirit of Bluesfest with his ethos and commitment to great music, sustainable living, peaceful mindedness, and cultural respect. And remember, Jack Johnson will be preceded at Bluesfest this year by his Brushfire label mates, the label owned by Jack - A.L.O (Animal Liberation Orchestra), Matt Costa, Zee Avi and Neil Halstead on Thursday April 1. Sure to be one of the great Bluesfest occasions!
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Jack Johnson will perform Thursday 1st and Saturday 3rd of April on the Mojo Stage.
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We're very honoured to present Crowded House for the first time ever, following knock out performances over the years from both Neil Finn and Tim Finn. One of our region's GREATEST bands, Crowded House is responsible for unforgettable songs such as 'Weather With You', 'Four Seasons In One Day', and 'Don't Dream It's Over' to name but a few. Get set for a dynamic musical journey that will draw from the band's acclaimed 2007 platinum album Time On Earth and their exceptionally deep catalogue of fantastic songs. It's fair to say that Crowded House don't perform all that often - making this Bluesfest appearance a genuine must-see event!
Crowded House will perform Sunday 4th of April on the Mojo Stage.
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While the group has recently finished a national tour in January, the John Butler Trio will not tour Australia on the back of their new album April Uprising until later in 2010. Australia's number one independent musician and someone very much at home at Bluesfest, John Butler has been with us for a long time, moving from our smaller stages to today, where he headlines our main stage. A 3 time ARIA award winner, John Butler is now a favourite at iconic international festivals like Fuji Rock Festival, Glastonbury, Boonaru, and Coachehella, where Bruce Fessier of USA Today proclaimed, "John Butler revealed himself to be arguably the finest guitarist at the Festival". While there is some stiff competition for that exact title at our 2010 event - you can be sure the John Butler Trio will absolutely thrill music lovers at Bluesfest.
John Butler Trio will perform Friday 2nd of April on the Mojo Stage.
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This Bluesfest favourite is one of the funkiest outfits in the known universe! And this time round, Galactic will feature a stunning and very special guest - Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers). Make no mistake - Cyril is the real deal - in fact he has been called the last great voice of New Orleans music! At 19, Cyril started singing with brothers Art and Aaron in the outfit that became the Grammy award winning R&B and soul group the Neville Brothers. Galactic themselves started out over a decade ago as an instrumental act in the tradition of the Meters and Booker T. & the MG's - bands equally comfortable recording their own material or working with vocalists. If you want to be shaken to your very foundations, make sure you see Galactic featuring Cyril Neville at Bluesfest 2010!
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Galactic and special guest Cyril Neville will perform Thursday 1st on the Crossroads Stage and Saturday 3rd of April on the Mojo Stage.
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Yet another inspirational Bluesfest fan favourite. A southern Californian surfer, Donavon Frankenreiter's first self titled 2004 record was made with the aid of his long time friend Jack Johnson, and spawned the radio hit "Free" (Note: Donavon's Bluesfest set will precede Jack's performance on Saturday April 3). In 2006, Donavon signed with Lost Highway and found even more of his own musical voice with the appropriately titled Move By Yourself. Now with album number three Pass It Around, Donavon Frankenreiter continues to win new fans everywhere. Loved for his organic and non-contrived lifestyle, there is sure to be a lot of love in the room when Donavon Frankenreiter hits the stage at Bluesfest!
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Donavon Frankenreiter will perform on Saturday April 3 on the Mojo Stage.
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It's no surprise that Fat Freddys Drop, the seven-piece soul powerhouse from Wellington New Zealand, sell out gigs purely through word of mouth. See this band live, and you will not be disappointed! Since they first toured in Europe in 2003 their success has taken them around the world in 80 days an estimated 11.5 times. Fat Freddy's Drop released their second album Dr Boondigga & The Big BW in 2009 - it shipped Gold on release in New Zealand, hit platinum in four days and went straight to number one on the New Zealand Music Album charts where it stayed for five weeks straight. The album is the successor to the band's 2005 debut album Based On A True Story, which also went straight to number one in New Zealand, reached eight times platinum and won a raft of awards including Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Album of The Year in the UK. In this instance and with this band folks, you can believe the hype.
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Fat Freddys Drop will perform on Sunday 4th of April on the Mojo Stage
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Although The Fray are playing several Australian capital city shows while in the country for Bluesfest, we felt they deserved a special mention here. Here is another 'next big thing' band for you: The Fray has already in fact had a #3 Australian chart album in 2009 for their second release, and is striking a massive chord internationally with their cross-generational appeal and great songwriting. Their debut album How to Save a Life (2005) featured the mssive single of the same name which charted in the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 and was also a top 5 single in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. But formed in 2002, The Fray owe all of their early success to their organic, grassroots beginnings. In other words, they did it the old fashioned way: they earned it: local area gigs led to enthusiastic local press and local radio support. Make sure you see The Fray live and witness this chapter in a great band's career. But, to be sure, it is the first chapter in the story of a band that promises to be around for a long, long time.
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The Fray will perform on Monday 5th of April on the Mojo Stage.
Lastly - a note on travelling to and from Bluesfest:
Yes, carparking will be free at Bluesfest, but we're really encouraging people to use public transport to come and go to Bluesfest, and the Shuttle Bus drop off point is just 200 metres from the festival's Southern entrance.
So that's it from Bluesfest HQ for now - keep that countdown going, and we look forward to updating you again soon.
Peter Noble and The Bluesfest team