Final Bluesfest Announcement
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The greatest 5 days of music in one place at one time anywhere in Australia! Easter long weekend March 20-24. This year at BELONGIL FIELDS: More space, More stages, More comfort. Voted Australia’S #1 Festival 13 times! Readers Poll, Rhythms Magazine. Final Bluesfest announcement: Rising Stars & New Discoveries! Now more than 125 artists & 200 performances – the most ever presented by Bluesfest!!! “Bluesfest (2008) is shaping up as one of the strongest festival lineups ever seen in this country.” Noel Mengel, Courier Mail “There’s a very real possibility that the 19th Annual Bluesfest could be the greatest ever festival line-up in Australia.” Gold Coast Bulletin February 14 2008 – The fourth and final round of artists scheduled to perform at the 19th Annual International East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival has today been announced – and the super bill looks increasingly like the mother of all Australian festival lineups. (See below names for headliners and this final announcement). Some of the most exciting 2008 festival experiences are in this final announcement – taking the total number of artists to around 125 across 200 performances – the most ever presented by the event. Bluesfest has a famous tradition of breaking new stars to Australian audiences – historical examples include Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Kasey Chambers, Cat Empire and Michael Franti’s Spearhead. New Byron Bay location The flagship Byron Bay Bluesfest event will offer a select space for camping and take place at Belongil Fields. A site steeped in festival history, Belongil Fields was an original festival home, when the event first went outdoors in 1993 after three initial years at the Arts Factory. In 1996, Bluesfest moved to the Rugby League Club grounds. With Belongil Fields now an interim site, the organisers are working on being at a new permanent location in 2009 for the 20th Anniversary Festival. So who is this year’s NEXT BIG THING? From the US we have chart-topping, award winning folk-rock-pop duo Sugarland. There’s also college rock jam-band phenomenon, O.A.R., (being heavily touted as the next Dave Matthews Band) on their first tour here following two sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Then there’s Raul Midón, blind American soul/blues artist, who serves up an explosive blend of soul, pop, and jazz, and is completely unmissable. From the UK we present dreadlocked singer songwriter Newton Faulkner, whose album spent two weeks at Number One in the UK. From New Zealand is the fabulous Hollie Smith, the only artist from these parts signed to the prestigious Blue Note label (Norah Jones, Miles Davis), Hollie’s recent album went to Number One and platinum status in NZ. New Aussie rising stars include Deadly Award winner Dan Sultan, The Huckleberry Swedes, produced by Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), award winning Leah Flanagan, Gotye’s side project The Basics and even more. Breakthrough Canadian acts include top ten reggae, rock, punk and soul band Bedouin Soundclash, art-folk sensation Dan Mangan and award winning “death country” or “black grass” outfit Elliot BROOD. The full list of new artists on this fourth announcement is: Sugarland (USA), Newton Faulkner (USA), Dan Mangan (Canada), O.A.R (USA), Troy Cassar-Daley, GOCOO (Japan), Chris Wilson, Mojo Webb, Martinez Brothers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Carus & the True Believers, Dan Sultan, Elliott Brood (Canada), Chain, Hollie Smith (New Zealand), Guy Davis (USA), Bedouin Soundclash (Canada), Corb Lund & The Hurtin’ Albertans (Canada), Hat Fitz, San Lazaro, The Basics, Raul Midon (USA), Will Conner, (USA), Beau Young, Leah Flanagan, Johnny Green’s Blues Cowboys, Johnny Gray’s Rockinitis, Yunasi (Kenya), Tribali (Malta), Hayley Sales (Canada), Collard Greens & Gravy, Worldfly, Lisa Hunt (USA), Kerianne Cox, Mongrels of Passion, Clint Crighton Jess Clements, Lucy Wainwright Roche (USA), eMDEE, Mason Rack, Marshall & The Fro, The Huckleberry Swedes, Ella Thompson, The Re-Mains, Sara Tindley & the Kingfishers, Juzzie Smith, Mahalia Barnes, Bridget Pross, Jason Lowe, The Blues Preachers, Amali Ward, Anni Piper, Tompo, Cody Butler , Jono McNeil They’ll be joining the fantastic headline artists revealed in earlier announcements which include: John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, Sinead O'Connor, Ray Davies, Keith Urban, The Cat Empire, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, The Cruel Sea, The Black Crowes, John Butler Trio, Wilco, Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Ozomatli, Mavis Staples, KT Tunstall, London Community Gospel Choir, Maceo Parker, and Stanley Clarke / George Duke Project. For a full list of artists playing at Bluesfest 2008, visit www.bluesfest.com.au The 19th Annual International East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival Thursday March 20 to Monday March 24 For e-blast: Click here to visit our website and read more about the artists announced. For media release: Read on for information about the artists announced: Sugarland - The debut album from US-based Sugarland, the chart-topping singer-songwriting duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, Twice the Speed of Life, was certified double platinum soon after its release in 2004. They received the award for Breakthrough Favorite New Artist at the American Music Awards and radio and fans alike embraced the record’s hit singles “Baby Girl”, “Something More”, “Just Might (Make Me Believe)” and “Down in Mississippi (Up To No Good)”. In a major career coup, Sugarland landed a highly prized Best New Artist nomination at the 2006 Grammy Awards, a category that includes all genres of popular music. Their much-anticipated second album, Enjoy the Ride, released in 2006, also went double platinum, and in 2007 Sugarland took home the trophy for the prestigious CMA Vocal Duo of the Year. First there’s Nettles, the blond powerhouse who belted it out in Baptist church as a kid before spending a decade ruling the Atlanta club circuit. Then there’s the charismatic Bush, the former alternative folk-rocker who grew up listening to college radio favourites The Replacements and R.E.M. Together, the two singular performers of Sugarland create an artistic partnership that is as unique as it is compelling. www.sugarlandmusic.com Newton Faulkner - Newton Faulkner is a brand new 22 year old English singer- songwriter with a wistful smile and phenomenal dreadlocks. With a debut album that spent two weeks at Number 1 in the UK charts last November, you’ll already know him as one of 2007’s most striking musical arrivals, clocking up a chart topping platinum album, sell-out UK tours and a growing legion of passionate fans. This is an old fashioned word-of-mouth success story from an artist with simply stunning songs and an astonishing virtuoso guitar technique. With no promotion and little money, his first release EP, Full Fat, reached number one on Amazon’s singles chart. His second release, the UFO EP, came out at the end of 2006. July, 2007, saw the release of Faulkner’s platinum-selling debut album, Hand Built By Robots, featuring a breath-taking cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”. The album showcases not only his fantastic vocals and beautifully dextrous guitar lines, but also wistful and intelligent lyrics delivered with tremendous wit. Now a fully fledged touring artist, Faulkner has wowed audiences at several major UK festivals through 2007 including Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Cambridge Folk Festival, V, 02 Wireless and Unleashed. Next on the list is, of course, Bluesfest 2008. www.newtonfaulkner.com Dan Mangan – Hailing from Canada, Dan Mangan is fast gaining the reputation of a festival show-stopper. Tying together the roots of acoustic folk and subtle symphonic pop, Dan Mangan’s 2007 album Postcards & Daydreaming is unabashedly mellow. However, it’s Mangan’s powerful, weather-beaten vocals that hint at something epic lurking in the undertones. Influenced both by songsmiths of old (Nick Drake, Woody Guthrie) and sonic innovators of late (Neutral Milk Hotel, Sigur Ros). Mangan’s “old soul” is made obvious through his lyrical ruminations on both the harmful capabilities and intrinsic beauty of human foibles. Think Kurt Vonnegut with a gravely sweet singing voice. At the tender age of seven, Dan Mangan’s first goal was to memorize and recite Abbey Road’s side ‘B’. At 17, it was to record his first EP. Now, at 24, it’s to meander into the stereo and hometown of music lovers worldwide. www.danmanganmusic.com O.A.R. – Bluesfest is thrilled to present O.A.R. (aka Of A Revolution) on their first Australian tour – on the back of two recently sold out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Yet another rising star act, make sure you see them – and you can say you saw them first! From their beginnings as a high school basement band to their current status as college rock phenomenon, O.A.R. has remained grounded and grateful at every step. The music, of course, is the key. O.A.R. play a lusty, driving train wreck of rock and ska with a liberal amount of reggae and honest, raw songwriting. O.A.R. converted from an Ohio State frat band to become a Billboard chartbuster and headliner at major venues across America. In 2005 they released their fifth studio album Stories Of A Stranger, featuring the stand-out tracks “Love And Memories”, “Wonderful Day” and “The Stranger”. Their latest release is 2007’s Live From Madison Square Garden – chronicling their sold-out performance with a two-disc audio set. O.A.R.’s infectious brand of uplifting music is coming to Australian shores and is sure to leave happy devotees in its wake. www.ofarevolution.com Troy Cassar-Daley – Troy Cassar-Daley has earned the reputation as one of Australia’s finest country performers, honing his craft over the course of 20 years and six studio albums.