Bob Dylan’s second concert at the Byron Bay Bluesfest is in doubt after an ongoing stoush between organisers and the Byron Shire Council threatens to derail plans for the gig by the legend. The dispute concerns the bid by the festival to extend its length for an extra day so it can include the Anzac Day Public Holiday.
The council has said a decision cannot be made until February – a decision festival organisers say Dylan can’t wait for. Organisers are going to court to try and force an earlier decision, but Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham says she can’t end the State planning rules. ”It came late in the year – there’s a lot of other things going on – and staff were constrained, time-wise, by the planning rules to properly exhibit [the application] and receive submissions,” she said.
