Bluesfest Reveals Epic First Line-up For 30th Anniversary Event

Bluesfest promised a massive line-up would accompany the festival's 30th anniversary next year, and today they’ve delivered, offering up a stacked first announcement that has something for everyone.

Returning to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm over the Easter long weekend next year, Bluesfest 2019 will feature exclusive headline performances from Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals and St Paul & The Broken Bones, while George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic deliver one of their final-ever shows.

The epic announcement also welcomes Aussie rock royalty in the form of The Black Sorrows, Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Clapton, Russell Morris and more, alongside a handful of Bluesfest first-timers, including I’m With Her, Larkin Poe, Kurt Vile, Greensky Bluegrass and Ray LaMontagne, while Kasey Chambers performs her acclaimed debut LP, The Captain, in full.

Here’s the first line-up announcement in all its glory:

Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Ray Lamontagne, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Snarky Puppy, Kasey Chambers, St Paul & The Broken Bones, Nahko & Medicine For The People, Tommy Emmanuel, Colin Hay, Arlo Guthrie, Keb’ Mo’, Tex Perkins, Allen Stone, Richard Clapton, Russell Morris, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Vintage Trouble, The Black Sorrows, The California Honeydrops, Trevor Hall, I’m With Her, Larkin Poe, Irish Mythen, Elephant Sessions, Greensky Bluegrass, RocKwiz Live

Read more:

• Protests, Peace & One Hell Of A Party - Here's What Went Down At Bluesfest 2018
• Bluesfest Inducted Into North Coast Tourism Hall Of Fame

“Our 30th Anniversary Bluesfest will be a MAJOR event in a long line of great festivals,” director Peter Noble said.

Noble cited the exclusive headline acts named so far as historically significant to the festival, with Harper’s 1994 appearance giving them “the inspiration to move out of being a purely Blues festival and evolving into being Australia’s first Blues & Roots Music festival, even creating the genre.”

Punters can expect a slew of other exciting announcements to follow, and given Bluesfest is a sell-out year after year, you might want to suss out tickets sooner rather than later, with festival and camping passes on sale now.

Bluesfest 2019 will take place from 18 – 22 April; click on theGuide for all the details.