Live Review: All The Action From The Final Day Of Bluesfest
"Having a case of the Monday blues takes on a whole new meaning on day five of Bluesfest."
Having a case of the Monday blues takes on a whole new meaning on day five of Bluesfest. There’s no time for Mondayitis here though, just one last day of music before we all have to return to reality.
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We start the day with Māmā Mihirangi & The Māreikura, the all-female Māori world-roots production trio. It’s a powerful set so early in the day, Māmā Mihi’s voice especially so. Between filming a video of the audience saying hello to her daughter and the unfurling of a 'Stop Adani' banner (“I’m just going to say it: ‘Fuck Adani.’ Don’t tell my mother I said that!”), we leave feeling re-energised by the looping magic.
Bringing trap-rap beats to the otherwise blues and roots-focused stages, Thando is a major left-field choice for the Bluesfest line-up but her otherworldly voice reels any naysayers in.
Folky Americana trio I’m With Her then bring their yellow matching jumpsuits to the Mojo tent, captivating the early crowd with their sweet harmonies and tales about finally getting to hold a koala: “I feel like it’s fundamentally changed us as people.”
Julia Stone illuminates us early in the day with a surprise set where it’s apparent far too many people are still sleeping in. Bringing out her brother Angus for a cheeky sing halfway through the set, we aren’t treated to a mega hit from the siblings unfortunately, but a gorgeous jam regardless.
ARIA Award For Breakthrough Artist nominee Mojo Juju is a delight to watch, especially so with guitar in hand, despite the clear oversight of not playing the Mojo stage. It’s her second set of the festival so she chuckles that some of her jokes and stories will be the same. Whether it’s telling these tales about her own lived experiences or those of the people she holds dear, this is a set that shows the power of storytelling and the importance of being a good ally and knowing when and how to use your voice.
Side note here: did anyone reading try one of the Byron Bay Organic Doughnuts? We've never seen a line at a festival consistently that long so we're wondering how good can a pastry be?!
As Ray LaMontagne takes the stage, it seems festival attendees have finally gotten out of their five-day stupor and made it to the grounds. And for good reason –LaMontagne’s voice is haunting, and his reverb-laden lap steel rings out like a ghost in the night. A surprise set highlight comes with his early emotional rendition of Jolene which simultaneously lifts us up and shatters us.
It’s a comfortable crowd at Keb’ Mo’s solo Jambalaya set; camp chairs come out as punters enjoy his Grammy-award winning blues in acoustic mode. He’s cheeky with his banter telling us he’s smoked enough to hear a symphony over his guitar and that he knows one of his tunes is real corny but it’s “the best one [he’s] got”.
Lukas Nelson really is the son of Willie Nelson – let that sink in for a minute. He and The Promise Of Real are also the band that feature in A Star Is Born, so without even being there you can imagine how unbelievable their set is. In reality, the band is somehow ten times better than expectations. Nelson is a clear reflection of his father in his younger days but with a much spicier guitar approach. Each track features some hefty licks and Nelson’s voice has a little bit of his dad’s twang but with much more body. Ending their set with crowd-pleaser Shallow, those passing by rush from the food stalls to witness history.
We overhear a woman asking her partner to make her dreams come true by dancing with her under the stars to David Gray. This Year’s Love plays and the couple are up slow-dancing out the back of the tent. The Ward Thomas sisters help out with some backing vocals and we’re obsessed with Gray’s signature bobblehead dance moves.
The Saboteurs made headlines before coming to Australia for the banning of phones at their gigs. The impracticality of this at a festival sees phones hoisted high in the air when Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler come bounding on stage. It’s among the band’s first-ever times playing as The Saboteurs (known elsewhere as The Raconteurs) and a high voltage set, White lamenting that even so, it needs to be turned up by at least 20 decibels: “Change the laws… How are you supposed to play outside and be quiet!” Hear, hear. The tent isn’t packed but the air is electric and White is mopping the sweat off his face and combing his hair between tracks. Who knows if they will ever grace stages Down Under again, but for now, we'll keep the Jack White swooning at the minimum and just be thankful they are back.
When you are talking about blues in Australia, you can’t go past the name Paul Kelly. Undeniably the greatest singer-songwriter of blues-rock in our great nation’s history, the man is in some of his finest form at the moment. He comes through with a career-spanning set, from recent album slices like With The One I Love to classics such as Deeper Water and Before Too Long. The singalong for From Little Things Big Things Grow sends chills down our spine, before the tears start to roll when How To Make Gravy finishes the set. With this being the last hurrah of Bluesfest, the cheers can be heard all the way across the Byron Shire. Summoned back on stage, PK quenches our blues thirst one last time as we meet him in the middle of the air.
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