It was great to get back amongst a full-blown festival once again, and Bluesfest delivered in spades as the Thursday saw huge crowds in attendance.
As always, the festival begins with a traditional Welcome To Country, a sign of respect for the traditional owners of the land upon which the festival operates, the Bundjalung people.
From the moment the music started with the opening act, the wonderful Indonesian blues quartet, Electric Cadillac, through to the closing moments on the main stages with the headline acts, day one gave everyone highlights to cherish for years to come.
Whilst blues and roots music has been the backbone of Bluesfest over the years, recent times have seen quite a number of acts from more pop-oriented genres showing up on the various lineups, and this year was to be no different.
From the psychedelic-tinged pop of Velvet Trip and Ocean Alley, the indie pop of Tones and I and Budjerah, the guitar-based blues rock of Melody Angel and young guns Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram and Taj Farrant, the folk blues-roots of The Pierce Brothers and on to the politically charged rock of Tom Morello, it would be hard to fathom that anybody could have left without having their cup running over with anything other than complete satisfaction.
I was able to see 10 acts on the day (all of whom are named above) and enjoyed all of them. However, I believe that on the day, Tom Morello was outstanding in his showmanship and ability to get the crowd up and pumping with his versions of songs from throughout his storied career.
Act of the day: Tom Morello
Welcome To Country Gallery:
Electric Cadillac Gallery:
Velvet Trip Gallery:
Pierce Brothers Gallery:
Budjerah Gallery:
Taj Farrant Gallery:
Melody Angel Gallery:
Tones & I Gallery:
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram Gallery:
Ocean Alley Gallery:
Tom Morello Gallery:
All images: ©fullonrockphotography/Andrew Fuller
