Following on from the successful launch of the Indigenous arts, music, and culture festival, Boomerang, the team behind Bluesfest are getting back to promoting their flagship concert series.
The award-winning Byron Bay event is celebrating a quarter century next year with its 25th Silver Anniversary edition and has already announced headliners John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, and John Butler Trio for the Bluesfest 2014 lineup before adding the likes of the Doobie Brothers, Dr John, Gregg Allman and more for a massive festival bill.
One act originally slated to appear on the Bluesfest 2014 lineup however, has pulled out of the festival, as the event’s promoters have announced in an uncharacteristically frank (and slightly scathing) press release.
Ernest Ranglin, the influential Jamaican guitarist and composer who has worked with a range of reggae legends from Bob Marley to Jimmy Cliff, will no longer be making the trip Down Under for Bluesfest 2014, with promoters speculating that the 81-year-old musician “took a bigger offer.”
“In dealing with all the artists from any one country in the world, Jamaica has been one of the more difficult over the years for Bluesfest. Numerous agents claim to represent Jamaican artists and it is difficult to know who is currently representing whom,” begins the forthright Bluesfest statement.
“Bluesfest contacted the agent who represented Ernest Ranglin the first time we toured him and booked, from him, the Jamaican Legends Tour. We were also approached by another agent in France, also claiming to represent [him]. Ernest Ranglin has now contacted Bluesfest to advise he was never approached to come to Australia and tour with Sly & Robbie and Bitty McLean as The Jamaican Legends,” the statement continues.
So far, so business-like, and as is often the case artists cancel for any number of reasons (as Passion Pit recently articulated), but rather than offer the usual “due to unforeseen circumstances” runaround, the Bluesfest statement adds their own commentary to Ranglin’s cancellation:
Read into this what you will!! What we read into it, after having successfully toured Ernest Ranglin on two previous occasions via different representatives, among the many who claim to represent him, is that he took a bigger offer after having previously confirmed ours. We are profoundly disappointed…”
Bluesfest also reveal that Ranglin “claims the agency we approached no longer represents him. This agency insists they have numerous emails between themselves and Ernest Ranglin clearly stating his acceptance of the Australian Tour. Ernest Ranglin has now accepted other shows in Europe from the French agent that conflict with the Bluesfest Tour. Last time we toured Ernest he had a Jamaican agent!!!”
Bluesfest note that the festival is removing Ranglin’s credit from The Jamaican Legends’ lineup “whilst other options are explored,” and in response to booked artists Sly and Robbie and Bitty McLean indicating they “still would like to come to Australia and tour.”
Despite the removal of Ernest Ranglin from the Bluesfest 2014 linup and the Jamaican Legends series, it shouldn’t harm the impact of the Bluesfest 2014 lineup to much.
Plus, if last year’s Bluesfest is anything to go by, with its star-studded lineup bringing “capacity crowds” of 17,000 per day and a total attendance of 85,000, generating millions for the local economy, plus nabbing a Helpmann Award in the process; Bluesfest 2014 will be even more massive as organisers pull out all the stops for their 25th Silver Anniversary edition.
The complete Bluesfest 2014 lineup promises a total of over 200 performances across seven stages and given that a number of the bands name-checked over the Bluesfest forums turned up in the first two announcements, it’s a good place to start for guesses over future lineup additions, with the likes of Tom Jones, Trombone Shorty, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, the Black Crowes, the Black Keys, and more tossed into the rumour mill.
Bluesfest 2014 Lineup
Doobie Brothers
Aaron Neville
Gregg Allman
Boz Scaggs
India.Arie
Suzanne Vega
Steve Earle & The Dukes
Dr John & The Nite TrippersErnest Ranglin
Sly & Robbie
Bitty McLean
Jimmie Vaughan
The Wailers
Ozomatli
CW Stoneking
Larry Graham & Graham Central Station
Grandmothers of Invention
The Magic Band
Robben Ford
The Paladins
Music Maker Foundation Feat. Pat Wilder, Cool John Ferguson, and Little Freddie King
Joining the already announced Bluesfest 2014 lineup of:
John Mayer
Dave Matthews Band
John Butler Trio
Erykah Badu
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Iron & Wine
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Devendra Banhart
Morcheeba
Gary Clark Jr
KT Tunstall
Allen Stone
Valerie June
Nikki Hill
and many more to come!
Bluesfest 2014 Dates & Tickets
25th Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest
Thursday 17th – Monday 21st April, 2014
All Single Day, Camping, Festival tickets are on sale now through www.bluesfest.com.au and Bluefest office on 02 6685 8310
Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster on www.ticketmaster.com.au
Bluesfest playing schedule is available on www.bluesfest.com.au
