Music festivals come in all shapes and sizes. Nowadays there’s a surplus, some good and some not so much, but one of the most exotic and fulfilling has to be the Byron Bay Blues Fest. This year’s line-up was even more impressive than usual with bands and singer-songwriters of broad appeal spanning more than six decades of blues-related music making.
There was something for all enthusiasts, social groups and ages on the bill: The Dropkick Murphys, The Cat Empire, The Robert Cray Band, The Bamboos, The Lumineers, The Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Saskwatch, Counting Crows, Jimmy Cliff, Rockwiz and the astonishing ukelele instrumentalist Jake Shimabukuro. The choice was thoughtful and this year targeted women, from the young Karise Eden (The Voice) who channelled Janis Joplin, to the astonishing soulful strains of diva Ruthie Foster. And, just as varied as the artists, young and old, were the international food stalls touting Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, Mexican and Indian delights.
As is so often the case at this event, the best performances came from the most surprising corners. At 74, Mavis Staples was turbo-charged, deploying her now restricted and deepened range to brilliant effect. With three support singers, a smart director cum slick guitarist, unassuming drummer and a keyboardist whipping up soupy dialogue on the Hammond organ, and the band adding just the right blend of colour and rhythmical spice, Staples whipped up a storm with ‘Hold On’ and ‘I’ll Take You There’. The twanging guitar call was old school, time travelling back to the Sixties with a tentful of happy followers tagging along. Dreamy guitar riffs from musical director Rick LA Holmstrom, a crystal clear sound, and Staples’ feisty spirit were thrilling to witness.
Jimmy Cliff was also a winner, spinning fat ska beats and expertly stirring the crowd, whether they liked his music or not. ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, ‘The Harder They Come’ and ‘Many Rivers to Cross’ were belted out with an infectious exuberance. Every so often, he threw himself into comical moves. There was the occasional disappointment, Ben Harper’s rather lack-lustre fare and a limp take on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ for instance; and Soja, an American reggae band that couldn’t deliver the essentials. The band lacked a credible groove, a singer with a professional mic technique, and arrangements that celebrated the numerous players.
And something has to be said about the audience. Of all ages, it’s unconditionally supportive, ready to participate at a drop of a hat, entertaining in and of itself. It’s uplifting to see the years melt away as older festival-goers revisit the soundtrack of their youth, dancing to Steve Miller Band’s smooth cruising set of ‘Abracadabra’, ‘Gangster of Love’ and ‘Fly Like an Eagle’.
Some performers, like the a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, milked their fans’ goodwill by marshalling a round in three parts. But, it’s also an audience that votes with its feet, usually muddy ones, encased in trend-setting wellies blazing with dotted, striped, skulled or floral patterns. When torrential rain punishes the festival – it tends to do so every year, turning the grounds into sticky black mud and unleashing the tang of tea tree oil – out come the rainbow-coloured plastic ponchos. No one is deterred.
It’s not the most comfortable of locales, long queues for toilets everyone regrets using, a long, long walk from parking bays and agonisingly slow homeward bound traffic. And, this year, the tickets had been oversold, causing logjams, especially in Mojo and Crossroads. Yet, the magic of strolling from one marquee to another in a contained, easily walkable space, grabbing time with one act before moving on to trial another, is the luxurious ingredient that makes this alfresco offering so popular.
When Santana played there wasn’t a centimetre of space in the tent either standing or sitting on BYO canvas chairs. A massive overspill of audience braved the rain, some wearing chairs as unlikely hats, in the bid to catch Santana’s high octane, superbly skilled, almost supernatural set. Santana’s extraordinary band, from his own showy execution to the wizardry of the duelling percussionists, persuasive singers and dazzling keys, wowed the packed tent and soothed the hoards outside.
Paul Simon headlined on Easter Monday. Everyone seemed to have the same idea of crushing shoulder to shoulder in the mosh pit for Bonnie Raitt who preceded Simon. Raitt, disadvantaged perhaps by performing with a band she had rehearsed with for only a couple of days and the daunting sound leakage from other tents, gave a rather routine performance. Her slide guitar was off the boil and the delivery fell flat despite Raitt’s romp through a chain of popular anthems. Her most impressive rendering was of the ballad ‘Don’t Patronise’.
And what a magical smorgasbord Simon presented, from multiple keyboards, two percussion stations with every tempting sound source in the business, vibraphone, piano accordion, bass, lead and rhythm guitars all fired by the brilliant musical director Mark Stewart, who played sax, self-made instruments, superb guitar, generous vocals and commanded everyone in the band.
Simon was awkward at first, despite his impressive battery of percussion and backing by the best in the business. Second song in the set, ‘Fifty Ways to Lose Your Lover’, complete with the military-themed, percussive intro, suffered from an over-amplified bass that masked the introduction’s string of ear-pleasing chords. The sound didn’t entirely settle until half an hour into the set. Even so, it was easy to appreciate the mastery of the players and especially Bakithi Kumalo’s amazing fretless bass lines.
The back wall screened snappy visuals with choice lighting. It was a rich, musical spread laid on by a legendary musician, more of a song-writing treasure than convincing performer perhaps, but making up for it with great arrangements and brilliant soloing from a star line up. Simon was most comfortable in the Zulu-pop crossover tracks ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’ and ‘Graceland’. But, he honoured his former legacy and the audience’s yearning to hear it with a decent, solo rendition of ‘The Sounds of Silence’, ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ and ‘Boxer’. If the 69-year-old’s voice even fleetingly faltered, the crowd stepped up, word perfect and very much on song.
Byron Bay Blues Festival
Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay
28 March – 1 April
