Bluesfest 2022 have announced The Cat Empire as their opening night headliner, marking the final show ever for the band’s original lineup.
The Byron Bay blues and roots festival is back in April 2022, and have announced a pretty impressive opening night headliner to add to an already impressive roster. After 20 years, over which they undertook 16 performances at Bluesfest, Melbourne big band outfit The Cat Empire will be playing their final ever show on the opening night.
Joining the likes of Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, and Jimmy Barnes for the four-day festival over the Easter long weekend, The Cat Empire’s original lineup will bless the main stage for the last time ever.
With a couple of Australia’s most explosive and enticing live acts, Caravãna Sun and Tijuana Cartel, playing the two sets before, it’ll be one of the biggest and best night’s in Bluesfest history.
2021 was a rough year for the festival scene, with lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions ruining one of the many things that brings joy to the world – live music. Bluesfest had a particularly rough go – with less than 24 hours before their opening night was meant to commence, the festival was forced to cancel.
Byron Bay had been in lockdown since August after a positive COVID-19 case had been detected, and when another case popped up a few days before Bluesfest was meant to start, a directive from NSW Health saw the festival postponed until October. But guess what happened in October? The virus was still rife and the state was still in lockdown, so Bluesfest 2021 was no more.
So, lock in Thursday April 14 to Monday April 18 2022 as the official dates for the next Bluesfest, three years after it was last held in 2019.
You’ll be treated to one final ever performance from the OG Cat Empire, as well as other unmissable roots and blues fun.
Check out the full lineup here, and grab your Bluesfest 2022 tickets here.
