Thursday @ Bluesfest:

Many people insist it's their favourite night at the festival. Why? Less crowds and easier access to the front of the stage mainly. Remember, anyone who saw Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra in 2008 at Bluesfest still raves about it - and Thursday night is their only Bluesfest show this year!

There's also Jack Johnson, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, Dr John and The Lower 911, Ozomatli, The Avett Brothers and the list just goes on.

Friday @ Bluesfest:

Come along to see John Butler Trio and Jeff Beck battling it out as closing artists across the two main stages. Who will draw the biggest crowds? Plus there's perennial favourites Buddy Guy, Rodriguez and The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker - plus exciting newer artists like The Swell Season and Imelda May.

Saturday @ Bluesfest:

What a night this will be with the only Bluesfest 2010 performance by the Gipsy Kings! These guys will have the tent absolutely shaking as you dance and sing along to classics like Bambaleo, Volare, Bem Bem Mario, Djobi Djoba and heaps more. And there are so many artists to enjoy and discover: alt-country legend Lyle Lovett, up and coming blues guitar superstar Joe Bonamassa, Galactic featuring Cyril Neville, John Mayall, Jon Cleary and so many more.

Sunday @ Bluesfest:

Sunday night will have people exhausting their vocal cords - Crowded House and Roger Hodgson of Supertramp will make sure of that! Those classic Supertramp songs like Dreamer, Give A Little Bit and Take The Long Way Home will have you singing along like no tomorrow. Same goes for all those great Crowded House numbers like Weather With You, Four Seasons In One Day, Don't Dream It's Over, Fall At Your Feet and Locked Out. Then there's Fat Freddy's Drop, 10cc, Jessica Mauboy (who will make a lot of new fans we're tipping) and that's to name but a few!

Monday @ Bluesfest:

In some ways, Monday brings everything together with simply amazing music for younger and older fans alike: The Fray, Newton Faulkner, Gogol Bordello, Carney, Dan Sultan and Angus & Julia Stone on the one hand, and Bebel Gilberto, Bèla Fleck's African Project Featuring Oumou Sangarè & band, Taj Mahal, Peter Green and Ross Wilson on the other. Wow, could Monday in fact be the best Bluesfest day and night of 2010?!?

Immediate VIP access and backstage experience for you
and a ticket holding partner.

A meet and greet with the following fabulous Bluesfest stars:

PLUS: A 2010 Bluesfest CD, Poster and Event T-shirt.

Matisyahu :

Matisyahu is an exciting artist who has transcended cultures and genres. Few make an impact as complete as the one Matisyahu made with his Top 40 hit "King Without a Crown": Here was a true original, the song announced-a Hasidic Jewish musician from New York City singing reggae songs about his religious devotion. Fans responded to this one-of-a-kind voice, too, driving Youth, Matisyahu's Grammy-nominated 2006 studio disc, to the top spot on Billboard's reggae albums chart. That album, as well as Matisyahu's previous recording Live at Stubb's (which was also voted number 5 in Billboard's reggae albums of the decade), went Gold. His new album, Light, which debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard charts and is currently Billboard's number 1 reggae LP, is further proof that this is a great musician worthy of your attention!

The Swell Season:

Here is a band that truly gets hearts fluttering. The Swell Season is the Oscar-winning duo of Frames front man Glen Hansard and Czech pianist and vocalist Marketa Irglova. This Australian visit for Bluesfest follows mesmerising Australian performances in early 2009, including multiple sold out Sydney Opera House concerts. Their new album, the sensational Strict Joy, is the follow up to their internationally popular Once film and soundtrack. Once became the surprise hit of Sundance 2007 which won the World Audience Cinema Award, culminating in the duo performing on the 80th Academy Awards and taking home the Oscar for their song, "Falling Slowly" from the film.

Avett Brothers:

A favourite support choice for the Dave Matthews Band, the Avett Brothers have 'next big thing' written all over them. Their major label debut album, I and Love and You (their 6th overall) has just been released on Sony, reached #16 on the US charts and was produced by absolute legend Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Jakob Dylan, Tom Petty). The influential Paste Magazine gave the record 96 out of 100 and called it simply a "masterful major label debut." This excellent record full of epic ballads further cements their intriguing southern roots sound which the San Francisco Chronicle describes as having the "heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones." This band really, really deserves your attention at Bluesfest 2010, in fact we're betting they will be the talk of the festival!

Angus & Julia Stone:

Well, do younger music fans get excited about these guys or what? While the unassuming Angus and Julia Stone from Sydney's Northern Beaches are refreshingly modest about their talent, their star continues to ascend at a great pace. Their debut album A Book Like This has gone platinum in Australia to rave reviews and two successful UK tours supporting Newton Faulkner and David Gray bookended their own sold-out London shows. Bernard Zuel of the Sydney Morning Herald described their distinctive vocal styles: “Her voice has a fractured feel like Julie Holland; his has a smoke-on-the-beach drawl." With their second album Down The Way due for release in March 2010, Angus and Julia Stone are just at the beginning of their exciting musical journey.

Newton Faulkner:

After wowing Bluesfest audiences in 2008, Newtown Faulkner is back! For a little history, his debut album, Handbuilt By Robots, was released in 2007 and secured platinum status in Australia and his home, the UK. The single 'Dream Catch Me' was a top ten hit in both countries and held the number one position on Australia's airplay chart for eight consecutive weeks. Faulkner toured extensively before releasing the follow up Rebuilt by Humans in 2009 - which also did so well it reached Number 5 on the ARIA charts! The 24-year-old singer-songwriter makes music full of serendipity and happenstance, coincidence and luck. He croons in a voice shaped by years spent listening to Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Tom Waits and plays guitar with a distinctive tap-pick-and-strum technique that allows him to use the instrument as guitar, bass and drums all at once. Very exciting, very real, and should be very much on your must-see list at Bluesfest!

Blue King Brown:

Look out Cat Empire, there's a new kid on the block coming to getcha! Blue King Brown are finally being regarded as one of THE great festival bands of Australia. In fact, Serj Tankian from System of a Down describes Australia's own Blue King Brown as "one of those unique truth-telling outfits in our business that defy time. Amazing musicians with a powerful message." The infectious energy and passion from lead singer, guitarist and percussionist Natalie Pa'apa'a has led Blue King Brown through an impressive touring history playing major festivals and venues in Australia the USA, Canada, Japan and Europe. They have also opened for greats such as Santana, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley, The John Butler Trio, The Cat Empire, Silverchair and Powderfinger. Blue King Brown return to Bluesfest with their world-renowned live show packed with hard-hitting lyrics and urban roots grooves. Get into it!

Gogol Bordello:

Get set for some genre-busting excitement! Gogol Bordello is a multi-ethnic Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of New York City that formed in 1999 and is known for its theatrical, jaw-dropping stage shows. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music, as its core members are immigrants from Eastern Europe. The band incorporates minor-key accordion and violin (and on some albums, saxophone) mixed with punk and dub. In fact, Gogol Bordello has been breaking down musical barriers since 1999 with a supercharged music based on a brutal gypsy two step rhythm that sounds like an Eastern European cousin of ska, augmented by punk, metal, rap, flamenco, roots reggae, Italian spaghetti, Western twang, dub and other sounds generated by gypsies and rebels from across the globe. Are you intrigued? We are!