For those of us who favour music that’s primarily found lingering within the average dad’s record collection, Bluesfest announcements are more or less what we live for.
With each artist announcement we pray to Clapton that some of our favourites will make their way to Byron Bay and, for lack of a better phrase, shred us a new one. Bluesfest’s first froth worthy artist announcement of 2017 will have many a prayers answered.
Bluesfest 2016 only just ended but this morning the first artist lineup for 2017 has been announced and BEWARE it’s good enough to kill a man!
As with previous years’ lineups 2017 is already shaping up to feature a healthy variation of artists. For the first time ever Patti Smith and her band will be headlining at the festival and performing her seminal record, Horses.
Fellow headliners Zac Brown Band will be playing, alongside festival favourites St. Paul and The Broken Bones, Nikki Hill, and Bonnie Raitt to name a few.
Also featured on the lineup is the blues’ sassiest veteran, the man with the polka dot guitar who gave even Hendrix the chills, Mr Buddy Guy. Following the release of his acclaimed 2015 LP Born To Play Guitar, it’s safe to say we will all be dropping to our knees during his two exclusive performances next April.
If you’re in as much awe as we are you can expect to feel a little more elation, as the festival’s director Peter Noble is making some exciting promises.
“…check it all out and you will find Bluesfest 2017 is going to go down as one of our great ones…and you ain’t seen nothing yet. And I mean it.”
He means it, people, he really means it!
The festival will take place from Thursday the 13th to Monday the 17th of April, 2017. Click here to find out more.
The full lineup (so far):
ZAC BROWN BAND
PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND PERFORM HORSES
THE LUMINEERS
BUDDY GUY (EXCLUSIVE)
BONNIE RAITT
MAVIS STAPLES (EXCLUSIVE) | BILLY BRAGG
JETHRO TULL
TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE
GREGORY PORTER | SNARKY PUPPY
ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES
BETH HART (EXCLUSIVE)
LAURA MVULA | ROY AYERS
BOOKER T PRESENTS THE STAX RECORDS REVUE
ANDREW BIRD
RICKIE LEE JONES | JOAN OSBORNE
TURIN BRAKES | THE STRUMBELLAS
JAKE SHIMABUKURO
DUMPSTAPHUNK |NIKKI HILL | IRISH MYTHEN
