Bluesfest drops first lineup announcement… and it's a big one

While it seems like only yesterday that Lionel Richie, Robert Plant, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Seal and the likes took to the stage at this year’s Bluesfest, today comes the first lineup announcement for 2019’s instalment of the renowned festival… and it is a doozey!
Bluesfest is known for pulling incredible acts, with the likes of Patti Smith, Paul Simon and Crosby, Stills and Nash having all graced the festival in the past, so it’s no surprise that they’ve pulled out all the stops once again.
Leading the massive celebrations, they’ve got an exclusive Bluesfest only show by Hawaiian singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, Bluesfest’s prodigal son, who will be making a long-awaited return to Bluesfest; having first played in 2001 – and most recently at our 25th birthday bash back in 2014.
Alongside Johnson, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals will headline the festival alongside George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, playing his last ever Australian live show, and Ray Lamontagne.
Joining those big names, there’s an incredible breadth of performers of all calibres on the lineup, with some acts returning to the festival and others making their Bluesfest debut next year. You can expect to see performances from St Paul & The Broken Bones, Snarky Puppy, Kasey Chambers, Colin Hay, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Tommy Emmanuel, 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 and Rockwiz Live.
The festival is known for dropping lineup curveballs in later announcements, as well as keeping huge names under wraps for surprise announcements, so this is just the beginning in terms of what to expect at next year’s Bluesfest. Plus, this year marks the festival’s 30th anniversary so you can safely assume they’ll be putting on something extra special.
Bluesfest is going down from Thursday April 18 – Sunday April 22, 2019 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay. Grab your tickets here.
Photo by Morgan Maassen