Bluesfest 2023
Sampa the Great | Credit: Don Arnold/WireImage

Sampa the Great, Sticky Fingers and More Artists Added to Bluesfest 2023 Lineup

Bluesfest has made its sixth artist announcement for 2023, naming five more acts who’ll appear at the Byron Bay festival this Easter long weekend. Zambian artist Sampa the Great will beef up the festival’s hip hop offering, which already includes Talib Kweli, GZA and Big Freedia. Sticky Fingers join the lineup for the five-day festival, appearing 12 months after the release of their fifth album, LEKKERBOY.

Another addition is A Heartfelt Tribute to Uncle Archie, produced in association with the Archie Roach Foundation. The performance will feature “long-time friends and musical collaborators” of the late Gunditjmara and Bundjalung musician and storyteller Archie Roach, who passed away in July 2022.

Sampa the Great – ‘Let Me Be Great’

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Melbourne-based 13-piece rock’n’roll collective Fools will make their way to the Byron Events Farm in Tyagarah, NSW, along with Northern Rivers singer-songwriter Jerome Williams.

Bluesfest made its fifth lineup announcement in early February, adding former The X Factor Australia winner and Eurovision representative Dami Im, Pacific beats artist Bobby Alu, Mental As Anything offshoot Dog Trumpet, YouTube sensations Steve ‘n’ Seagulls, roots festival favourites Hussy Hicks and UK folkie Frank Turner.

The event’s previously announced headliners include BeckBonnie RaittBuddy GuyKing Gizzard & The Lizard WizardGang of YouthsCounting CrowsElvis CostelloThe Doobie Brothers and plenty more.

“I hope you feel as we do about the Bluesfest lineup,” said Bluesfest festival director Peter Noble. “Not only is it one of the best bills in the festival’s history, I believe it is the festival bill of the season.”

UPDATE 16/02/2023: Bluesfest director Peter Noble defends booking Sticky Fingers for 2023 event: “Isn’t it time to forgive, and let him get on with his life”

UPDATE 20/02/2023: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have withdrawn from Bluesfest, citing Bluesfest’s decision to present content that “is in complete opposition to [their] values”.

Bluesfest 2023

  • Sampa the Great
  • Sticky Fingers
  • A Heartfelt Tribute to Uncle Archie
  • Fools
  • Jerome Williams

joining…

  • Bobby Alu
  • Buttered
  • Clarence Bekker Band
  • Coterie
  • Dami Im
  • Daniel Champagne
  • Dog Trumpet
  • Electric Cadillac
  • Frank Sultana
  • Frank Turner
  • Hussy Hicks
  • Lisa Hunt’s Forever Soul
  • Loose Content
  • Ray Beadle Stax of Blues
  • Roshani
  • Round Mountain Girls
  • Steve Poltz
  • Steve ‘n’ Seagulls

joining…

  • Paolo Nutini
  • The Angels
  • Ash Grunwald
  • Backsliders
  • The Bros. Landreth
  • Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges
  • Trombone Shorty & The Orleans Avenue
  • Yirrmal

joining…

  • Beck

joining…

  • Allison Russell
  • Counting Crows
  • The Doobie Brothers
  • Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats
  • St Paul & The Broken Bones
  • Vintage Trouble

joining…

  • 19-Twenty
  • Beth Hart (Exclusive)
  • The Black Sorrows
  • Bonnie Raitt
  • Buddy Guy
  • The Cat Empire
  • Chain
  • Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
  • Elvis Costello & The Imposters
  • Eric Gales (Exclusive)
  • Femi Kuti & The Positive Force
  • Gang Of Youths
  • Greensky Bluegrass (Exclusive)
  • Jackson Browne
  • Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
  • Joe Bonamassa (Exclusive)
  • Joe Camilleri Presents a Star-Studded Tribute to The Greats of The Blues
  • Jon Stevens
  • Kaleo (Exclusive)
  • Keb’ Mo’
  • King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
  • Lachy Doley And The Horns Of Conviction
  • Larkin Poe
  • LP
  • Lucinda Williams
  • Marcus King
  • Mavis Staples
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead
  • Nikki Hill (Exclusive)
  • Robert Glasper
  • RocKwiz Live
  • The Soul Rebels & Friends with Special Guests Talib Kweli • GZA • Big Freedia
  • Southern Avenue (Exclusive)
  • Spinifex Gum Feat. Marliya
  • Steve Earle & The Dukes
  • Tash Sultana
  • Xavier Rudd

Dates & Venue

Thursday, 6th April–Monday, 10th April – Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah NSW

Tickets are on sale now via the official website.

Further Reading

Shortlist Revealed for the 18th Australian Music Prize: Body Type, Tasman Keith, and More

The Complete and Updated List of Bluesfest 2023 Sideshows

Bluesfest Is Coming To Melbourne In 2023

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