Bluesfest, Deni and Canberra Folk festivals draw big Easter crowds

Fine weather across much of the East Coast during the Easter long weekend proved a boon for major music festivals.

Byron Bay’s 25th anniversary five-day bash Bluesfest appeared to top its usual 100,000 attendance mark. Festival director Peter Noble told TMN, “This is our equal biggest festival or the biggest yet…we will work through all the numbers and make an announcement in the coming days.”

Collaborations were the order of the day – they included Joss Stone jamming with Jeff Beck for I Put A Spell On You, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes joining Dave Matthews Band for All Along The Watchtower, Xavier Rudd with Nahko and The Medicine People, Jurassic 5 MC Chali 2na joining WAR, Bernard Fanning with Kasey Chambers, and Henry Wagon with Michael Franti and India.Arie. Passenger even ended up on the Buskers Stage after performing his own scheduled set.

The second Deni Blues and Roots Festival saw 8,000 come out for sets by John Mayer, Michael Franti, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Boz Scaggs and The Doobie Brothers. This almost doubled last year’s inaugural event, with promoter Michael Chugg citing “perfect weather, perfect music.”

The 48th National Folk Festival in Canberra drew 50,000, with singer-songwriter Margaret Roadknight receiving a lifetime award.