‘Time to close this chapter’: Iconic Australian festival Bluesfest to say goodbye with one last event

An iconic Australian festival has announced it will return for one final show before finishing up after 35 years. Bluesfest is set to go ahead in Byron Bay next year, however festival director Peter Noble confirmed the 2025 event will be the last. “To my Dear Bluesfest Family, and after more than 50 years in the music business, Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community, and the resilient spirit of our fans,” he said in a statement. “But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter. As I said earlier this year at Bluesfest 2024, next year’s festival will be happening and it definitely is, but it will be our last.” Mr Noble expressed his hope that the festival will go out on an “unforgettable” note, urging Australians to get involved. “To my dear Bluesfest family, I want to make it the most unforgettable experience yet,” he said. “If you’ve been thinking about it, now is your last chance to experience our beloved festival.” The news comes after a slew of festival cancellations, including Splendour In The Grass, Groovin The Moo, Spilt Milk, Harvest Rock, Promise Village, and even last year’s Falls Festival. Bluesfest, renowned for celebrating roots and blues, first launched in 1990, and has since pulled big names including BB King, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Lauryn Hill, John Mayer and Santana to the stage. This year’s line-up featured Jack Johnson and Tom Jones, while Aussie legend Jimmy Barnes made his triumphant return at the event following open heart surgery. Other beloved music legends closer to home, including Midnight Oil, Kasey Chambers, and Crowded House have also graced the stage at the festival. The final Bluesfest event is set to span four days over the Easter long weekend at the 300-acre Byron Events Farm. Multiple stages are expected to close out the festival, with the line-up all set to be announced next week. Organisers have revealed they’re expecting “many (of their) greatest artists”, while giving some first timers a shot. Bluesfest is the most awarded music festival in the Australian industry, having taken out several tourism and music festival awards, including nine wins at the NSW Tourism Awards for Major Festivals and Events. While beloved by many, Bluesfest did draw controversy after announcing Sticky Fingers as the headlining act for the 2023 festival. The lead singer of Sticky Fingers, Dylan Frost, was riddled with controversy after various allegations of racism and abuse. These include allegations he threatened and abused Australian musician Thelma Plum and her boyfriend in 2016, which he later apologised for in an Instagram post where he said “violence against women is never OK”. As a result of the controversy, other bands from the 2023 line-up, including Samp the Great and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, pulled out of the festival. Sticky Fingers was eventually pulled from the 2023 line-up in a statement from Noble. “Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition, and we apologise to those artists, sponsors and any others we involved in this matter through our mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is build,” Mr Noble wrote in a statement at the time.