It's looking like it's full steam ahead for the festival.
It’s official: Bluesfest will be going ahead in 2021.
Summary
- After last year’s heartbreaking cancellation, Bluesfest has confirmed its COVID-19 Safety Plan has been approved by the NSW Health Department.
- The festival will go ahead with an all-Australian lineup due to border closures.
- Masks will not be required at the festival grounds or campsites, however, seating will be made mandatory.
Catch up on all the latest touring news here.
Longstanding festival director Peter Noble has today shared a statement confirming that the Byron Bay event’s COVID-19 safety plan has received the green light from the NSW Health Department, so long as the state’s COVID-19 situation doesn’t worsen in the coming few weeks.
“This is a great day, not only for Bluesfest, but also for the Australian Live Music Industry and our unrelenting efforts to get back to presenting Live Music Safely,” said Peter Noble.
“Whilst our capacity, stages and campgrounds will be approximately 50% of the numbers we have had in the past, it is great to know there is a future for our industry, and that we have been given the opportunity to present Bluesfest 2021 at a level not seen at festivals in Australia since the summer of 2019/20.”
Throughout the press statement, Noble notes that the festival’s 150 page COVID-19 Plan will be considered in depth over the next few weeks to ensure the event is presented in a safe and appropriate manner.
Perhaps of note, the festival have also stated that attendees will not have to don masks while roaming the festival site and campgrounds. However, they’ve also reaffirmed that this year’s edition of Bluesfest will be a sit-down affair, with all patrons being required to be seated in allocated zones while at the festival.
Currently slated to go down over the Easter weekend of April 1 – 5 at the Byron Events Farm, Bluesfest 2021 will feature an all-Australian lineup headlined by the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Tash Sultana, Ocean Alley, The Teskey Brothers, Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke and John Butler.
As it stands, the festival is 80% sold out, with allocated Friday, Saturday and Sunday tickets expected to fully sell out in the lead-up to the festival’s kick-off.
Last week, Bluesfest Touring announced a swathe of rescheduled sideshows in 2022 for a handful of the headline acts booked to perform at last year’s festival, including George Benson, Patti Smith, Cory Henry, Larkin Poe and The Wailers.
For tickets and further details, head to the Bluesfest website today.
