Happy 21st Birthday Bluesfest!

Good things come in three for Australia’s renowned music festival
The month of September sees a happy conjunction of three important milestones in the ongoing phenomenon of the internationally respected Bluesfest music festival:

1. Bluesfest finally gets its own permanent home – just 10kms north of Byron Bay on the northern NSW coast

2. Bluesfest becomes the only music festival to be nominated for the prestigious 2009 Australian Events Awards – to be announced on 8 October

3. Early Bird tickets for the special 21st Birthday Bluesfest Festival Bash in 2010 over the Easter long weekend (Thursday April 1 to Monday April 5) will go on sale on Monday, 28 September 2009

Bluesfest Festival Director, Peter Noble, is understandably delighted to be able to announce this Bluesfest Trifecta.

The first leg – achieving a long held dream to give the festival “its own home and heart” – will see Bluesfest 2010 staged at the 120hectare Tyagarah Tea Tree farm just off the Pacific Highway 10 minutes north of Byron Bay.

The second leg – winning peer recognition among Australia’s most innovative, creative and outstanding events – Bluesfest will be nationally recognised at the ‘Industry Night of Nights’ Gala Dinner at the Westin Hotel, Sydney on Thursday 8 October 2009.

The third leg – an earlier than usual Early Bird ticket release – to reward the faithful multitude of fans with a promise of a special landmark 21st Birthday Bluesfest celebration event over Easter in 2010.

The new Bluesfest home:
The securing of a permanent home for Bluesfest has been a burning ambition of Peter Noble. He said: “With this long anticipated move we are able to give not only our countless thousands of faithful fans, but also the wonderful galaxy of performing artists who keep returning to grace our festival – a deeper sense of home, heart and belonging”.

While the former site at Byron Bay’s Belongil Fields helped create an important plank of the folklore of Bluesfest’s growing reputation, Peter Noble believes that the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm home will add several new dimensions to Australia’s most awarded music festival.

Bought in 2007, the long established Tea Tree farm is six times larger than the Belongil Field site. It is an operational agricultural and livestock farm, with the Tea Tree crop proudly collected by Peter and his team only a few weeks ago. But the rare Jelly Bush honey crop is another matter of pride. The bees producing this honey – an echo of New Zealand’s famed Manuka honey – are only to be found in this region of the NSW north coast. Said Peter: “Jelly Bush honey has the same mystical quality of the Manuka honey – it can be used to heal open wounds on the human skin. It is also delicious to eat, by the way.”

Byron Bay Council have given a three year approval for the festival to be staged at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm. Work is well under way by the Bluesfest team to prepare for the 21 Birthday event – with facilities and space for 6,250 campers and up to 17,500 daily visitors.

Australian Events Awards:
Bluesfest is the first music festival to be nominated for a prestigious Australian Events Award. At the “Industry Night of Nights” on 8 October, Bluesfest joins a nominee roll of honour for the Best Cultural or Arts Event that includes Sydney Festival 2009, Adelaide Fringe 2009, 16th Biennale of Sydney.

Bluesfest also qualifies for the Blue Riband Australian Event of the Year which will be announced at the gala dinner.

Tickets On Sale Now:
The great opportunity for pre-early bird tickets will be launched on the morning of Thursday 17 September 2009 for one week only! Early Bird tickets will take over after the one week special offering discounted tickets for those who were not fast enough to take advantage of the special offer. Peter Noble is promising for 2010 to more than match the legendary array of class performers who have graced the Bluesfest stage over its 20 year history. He has been travelling the world re-uniting with his peers and friends at the world’s premier music events.

Details of the line up are a couple of months away from being made public, but Peter has let slip that fans should – among other things – look forward to a “Guitar Lover’s Festival from Hell.” He has also hinted at an evening entitled “a taste of Classic Rock” and, of course some of the best blues available anywhere in the world.

Peter’s final word: “Bluesfest is known and respected around the world. I hear that feedback in all my travels. It explains why we can attract the best artists time after time. A North American date or a trip to Europe is easy for any of them. But to commit to the long haul to Australia and give so much of their time – that’s commitment.

“We in turn treat them with the respect they deserve. And they know that Bluesfest audiences will give them the credit they are due. The fans recognise the creative talent we put on that stage and they come to listen to some of the best blues, jazz and world music that can be found anywhere.”

Click through to view Byron Bay Accommodation for the Bluesfest!

This article is sourced from the official Bluesfest website here.

Bluesfest, Byron Bay