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The Face of the Future
Fourteen-year-old Torin Peat, who was the winner of the 2025 Byron Bay Bluesfest Grommets (under-18) Busking Competition, plays his original song, Horseback Blues.
I’m not the first to say it, but music crosses boundaries: the boundaries of time and place.
One of the things I always loved about the annual Easter long weekend Byron Bay Bluesfest music festival was the cross-section of ages, styles, and origins, of the performers – and of the audience members. The family-friendly event always billed itself as a collection of ‘Blues and Roots’ music, but in reality, its reach was pretty broad.
With three to four stages playing at any one time across the four days, there was a lot of music to choose from this year. My sampling ranged from the youngest performer, High School student Torin Peat playing blues standards and his original tune, to the old rock-boogie masters George Thorogood & The Destroyers playing the soundtrack of my youth.
As much as I enjoy the music, I love getting close enough to the stages to get portraits of the artists. That was even more difficult than usual this year: the tents felt more tightly packed than ever and the fenced-off areas for the VIP ticket-holders and for the sound equipment seemed to take more space than before.
Still, I got a few pictures that I’m happy enough to share.
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Passing the Baton
American singer-songwriter Marc Broussard is an example of passing down traditions: this funky bayou-soul artist is the son of acclaimed Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard.
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Hands Across the Water
Helping Marc Broussard out on keyboard and hammond organ, Australian musician Clayton Doley keeps the audience moving.
Behind the Scenes
Large portions of the tents are gated off for the sound technicians. (iPhone15Pro)
In a Crowded Tent
Either I’ve got shorter, or the rest of the audience has grown taller! Once I work my way around the sound booth, I get a somewhat better view of American blues guitarist and singer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
Old Rockers never go Quietly!
George Thorogood and the Destroyers had the audience in the packed-out Mojo tent bouncing in high gear.
Razor Wire and Flags
The walk from the carpark into the festival grounds felt longer each day – but we had beautiful weather. (iPhone15Pro)
An International Experience
I started my third day with the Clarence Bekker Band in the Crossroads Tent. This joyful group includes musicians from all over.
CB Milton
Also known as Clarence Bekker, CB Milton is a Dutch musician from Suriname – currently based in Barcelona. He has had a number of chart singles, alone and with the international Playing for Change band.
Channelling Jerry Lee Lewis
Joining the the Clarence Bekker Band was Eric Stang, keyboardist, bassist, singer, actor, and music producer from Chicago. He recently had a successful run as Jerry Lee Lewis off-Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet.
Francisco ‘el Rubio’ Guisado
Barcelona-based Spanish guitarist ‘el Rubio’ is a key part of Clarence Bekker’s band.
Borrowed Drums
This one was a surprise! I’m not sure if I can count the number of times I’ve seen Australian Dave Fester on the drums with different line-ups over the years (eg: Weekly Wanders+Dave Fester).
Buckle In!
The high-octane energy brought to the stage by guitarist Kane Dennelly, drummer Jeremy Berg, and double bassist John Gwilliam from 19-Twenty needs to be seen to be believed!
Kane Dennelly
19-Twenty is one of those groups I’ve seen before (eg: Weekly Wanders+19-Twenty), and they never disappoint. As a bonus, they invited my festival-favourites (see: Healing Wounds and Telling Stories), Leea Gentz and Julz Parker, onto the stage to help out with one of their songs.
Tent Filling
The light is falling under an autumn sky outside, and the tents are filling up further. As the evening draws on, those passageways disappear entirely.
On the Mojo Stage
Nicholas Caruana, also known as Nicky Bomba, fronts the lively multi-pieced Melbourne Ska Orchestra.
Sound the Horns
The orchestra covers the stage with people …
The Melbourne Ska Orchestra
… and fill the tent with joyful, bouncy sound.
Hands in the Air
The last time I saw the Australian multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd, his song Follow the Sun had only just recently been released. Then, he was playing alone as a one-man-band.
On the Big Screen
This year, Xavier’s beautiful set included backup musicians, including Lisa Purmodh on bass.
Singing in the Dark
Another popular Australian singer-songwriter, Vance Joy, took to the Crossroads stage next. With backup help, he performed his crowd-pleasing boppy blend of folk and pop.
Neil Finn
The last band on stage for the night was the current iteration of Crowded House, fronted by Neil Finn, the youngest of the musically talented Finn brothers from New Zealand.
On the Jambalaya Stage
We arrived early on Sunday, the final day of the festival. My first stop was the Jambalaya tent, where young Torin Peat seemed dwarfed by the stage.
Torin Peat
But, the fourteen-year-old winner of the 2025 Byron Bay Bluesfest grommets (under-18) busking competition more than held his own.
Under Lights in Delta
I wasn’t going to miss the delightful Kim Churchill – a popular Australian folk, rock, and blues singer, songwriter, and musician.
Kim Churchill on Guitar
I love Kim’s stories about his early busking days.
Birren
Birren, the winner of the adult category in the Byron Bay Bluesfest busking competition joined Kim on stage.
Lech Wierzynski
The California Honeydrops are irresistable with their New Orleans style laid over their roots, blues, R&B, and soul music. I’ve shared their track When it Was Wrong before:
Popcorn Sky
As the afternoon turned to evening, the tents filled up even further. We sat outside the Crossroads tent (no hope of getting in!) and caught some of the sounds. Fortunately, there was nothing on later that we desperately wanted to see; we headed back to the car and went home early. (iPhone15Pro)
Last year, they advertised that the four-day 2025 event would be the last. I suspect we weren’t the only ones who bought tickets for that reason.
And, I think that was why the whole event was so overcrowded.
I am glad that the festival will be back next year – but I won’t be.
I’ll have to find my music some other way.
Until next time …
Photos: 18-20April2025
