The 2021 festival is set to be headlined by none other than indie folk titans Bon Iver, with Justin Vernon and his uncanny ensemble also locked in to tour Australia around the same time as Bluesfest in March and April. This announcement should provide some respite for punters who had tickets to his shows at Dark Mofo for this year, and we feel like this set will go one as being one of the most special headline shows in Bluesfest history.
Similarly, Patti Smith and her band will also double down and return to Byron Bay in 2021. Smith and her band were one of the first Bluesfest acts to reschedule sideshows for next year, so it was almost a given that she’d be on this new lineup – nevertheless, we’re stoked to see her name there again.
While previously announced 2020 headliners Lenny Kravtiz, Crowded House, Alanis Morisette and the Dave Matthews Band are absent from next year’s event, punters will be able to find solace in the dulcet tones of Aussie legend Jimmy Barnes; a new addition to the lineup for next year.
He’ll also be joined by local soul lords The Teskey Brothers and country queen Kasey Chambers to make for a holy trinity of Australian festival acts, which we’re undoubtedly going to see more and more of in the coming months.
Elsewhere, the majority of the Bluesfest 2021 lineup looks quite similar to what the organisers had planned for earlier in April this year. George Benson, John Butler, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Morcheeba, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, John Mayall and Jimmie Vaughan all appear on the new lineup, and there’s even a few cheeky inclusions from the likes of Weddings Parties Anything, Harts and Emily Wurramara.
Check out the lineup in its entirety below. Tickets for Bluesfest’s 2021 event are on sale now – head to the festival’s website for more details.
Bluesfest Byron Bay 2021
Thursday 1 – Monday 5 April, 2021 – Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, NSW
BON IVER – PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND – JIMMY BARNES
GEORGE BENSON – THE TESKEY BROTHERS
JOHN BUTLER – XAIVER RUDD – THE CAT EMPIRE
KOOL & THE GANG – THE GIPSY KINGS
KASEY CHAMBERS – THE WAIFS – TROY CASSAR-DALEY
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
THE WAILERS PERFORM SONGS FROM ‘LEGEND’
LP – MORCHEEBA – THE BLACK SORROWS
TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE
TORI KELLY – BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE
THEMARCUS KING BAND – CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM
JIMMIE VAUGHAN – JOHN MAYALL
MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA – CHAIN – LARKIN POE
WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING – exclusive show
BACKSLIDERS – HARTS PLAYS HENDRIX – ASH GRUNWALD
THE WAR & TREATY – CORY HENRY & THE FUNK APOSTLES
WALTER TROUT – THE BAMBOOS
MICK THOMAS’ ROVING COMMISSION – DAMI IM
PIERCE BROTHERS – EMILY WURRAMARA– ROSHANI – RAY BEADLE
HENRY WAGONS – HUSSY HICKS – PACEY, KING & DOLEY
DANIEL CHAMPAGNE – NATHAN CAVALERI
LITTLE GEORGIA
BLUESFEST BUSKING COMPETITION & WINNERS
THE AUSTRALIAN AMERICANA MUSIC HONOURS
