And just like that we’d once again come to the end of the Byron Bay Bluesfest. As the event’s fifth day, it’s fair to say that by now we were both exhausted and used to the exciting lifestyle that the festival offers. It’s never an easy event to say goodbye to, especially after a year that housed one of its best lineups ever, and was without a doubt the best Bluesfest we’ve ever attended. Although my sore, sore feet beg to differ.
Australian duo, and past Bluesfest favourite, Busby Marou were kicking things off on the main Mojo Stage when we arrived, covering “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” with special guest Scott Owen from The Living End. It wouldn’t be the only surprise artist to appear at the festival on its final day. Later in the evening, Dan Sultan surprised fans with an appearance during Irish singer/songwriter Damien Dempsey‘s set, which saw SC Trash appear as the backing band. And before she took to the stage herself, the legendary Bonnie Raitt made a surprise appearance during the set of touring partner Mavis Staples, which we’ll get to in a moment. And I’m sure there were more, too!
Following Busby, we made tracks to see Wilson Pickers, who were playing their acoustic country folk to a full tent; tracks full of lovely, strong harmonies. “We Were Young” was a sweet and nostalgic performance, while “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” was more upbeat, with its soaring harmonica. “Can’t Steal My Love”, meanwhile, was another hit with the crowd, building into a catchy, upbeat chorus. The set closed out with a joyous cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”.
Next it was the time for the Cairns Brother/Sister duo who are well known for playing acoustic country blues, rich in harmony, The McMenamins. The result of their voices together is nothing short of stunning, with Fleur proving to be particularly powerful on the microphone, bringing the laid back sound of The Waifs or Clare Bowditch to mind. Highlights of the set included the uplifting “Look for Me”, featuring Simon on the violin, a track about “a girl’s kids knowing where to find her when she’s gone”, and the slower, heartfelt “Moon over Tamworth”.
Festival favourite Mavis Staples returned next, pumping out a cover of The Band’s “The Weight”, which was an easy hit with the crowd. Other highlights included “I’ll Take You There”, “Too Close / On My Way To Heaven”, with its amazing, gospel lyrics, and a soulful, slower rhythm. “We’re Gonna Make It” was an optimistic, grooving number and Staples’ ‘baby sister’ Bonnie Raitt was a surprise guest for “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. With her booming, powerful vocals and a fantastic attitude, Staples was one of my easy highlights of the whole weekend.
There was a huge crowd at the Crossroads stage for the festival’s one off appearance of young rockabilly outfit Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, who were well into their set when I arrived, and as usual proving themselves the charming, entertaining family band. USA country/folk rockers the Zac Brown Band, meanwhile, were proving themselves the solid live band they’re renowned for being internationally – though their massive success doesn’t seem to have replicated quite as dramatically here in Australia. The band are tight, with influences from artists like Wilco and Garth Brooks worn on their sleeves. But like so many popular American groups (see the Dave Matthews Band, Phish etc.), this is a band who are as much about the jams as anything, and they can certainly pull out some tight ones.
Popular with the younger festival attendees, the Communion signed talent Ben Howard returned to Byron Bay following a successful, rain-inducing performance the year prior at Splendour in the Grass. In addition to being a pitch perfect performer with a solid arrangement behind him, Howard also proves to be an indelible guitar player, with a unique style that sees him play from both below and above the fretboard. He heralds immediate comparisons to someone like Damien Rice, which of course is a massive compliment, but he’s already at a point where other artists are being compared to him, so take with that what you will. Highlights of the set included “Everything”, “Diamonds” (featuring the cello!) and of course the popular single “Only Love”.
Bonnie Raitt returned to the main stage to open for Paul Simon and looked as resplendent as always, having dedicated a track to the blues when I arrived. Her range from soulful ballad to country rock and then back to the blues is something that forms a sound uniquely her own. And she wasn’t the only singer amongst her ensemble, with keyboardist Mike Finnigan taking over vocal duties for “I Got News For You”. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” was my favourite moment of the set, a beautiful ballad which Raitt played as her encore, before “Have A Heart” closed out the show and reminded us all that she can rock out as hard as the rest of them – and is a fantastic guitar player to boot.
And then there was Paul Simon. What a set this was to end the festival. Though he proclaimed the set would be a “dance party”, what with the “tent and all the standing”, it went back and forth from being just that, to a more somber affair, with “Slip Slidin’ Away” dedicated to the late Phil Ramone, which saw Simon move over to the electric guitar – something you don’t see all that much of from the renowned acoustic “finger picker”. It was a powerful moment, and obviously an emotional moment for Simon, who pointed to Ramone as the reason half the songs he was playing existed at all.
There were no fewer than three encores in the hour and a half performance, with the third going past the set allotment and proving to be a true surprise for the crowd – especially considering it was the classic Simon and Garfunkel song “The Boxer”, which had everyone in the tent singing along. I have goosebumps just thinking about it. There couldn’t have been a better way to end the set.
But we got plenty of other gems too. “Sound of Silence” and “”My Little Town” were the other Garfunkel tracks to make the cut, with “Silence” kicking off the first encore (and the singalong being anything but silent), though it was perhaps “Don’t Call Me Al” that got the biggest sing and dance along of the night. “Still Crazy After All These Years” was a surprising, but welcome addition to the hit filled set, as was “Was a Sunny Day”, “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”, “Crazy Love, Vol. II”, “Graceland” and “Late In The Evening”. The full setlist is at the end of this article.
The music ranged from his earliest work, to his newest, with his effortless movement from New Orleans influenced material, into his work with Garfunkel (which, let’s face it, isn’t quite the same without him), and then back into his African inspired Graceland music, being nothing short of astounding. Simon remains an artist who continues to impress album after album, and like all too few of his era, have continued to tour and warm the hearts of tens of thousands wherever he goes. And it actually seems like he enjoys it too.
As the majority of the crowd made a move to their cars, we hung around to listen to Wilco, who helped close the festival at some of the smaller stages, along with The Beards and the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, to name but a few. They played tracks like “Jesus, etc.” and gave us some great moments to end the 2013 Bluesfest on – not that we needed any more.
The eclectic mix of talent at Bluesfest this year was one of the finest curations of the festival we’ve ever seen – from the top all the way down to the bottom. With minor exceptions – such as traffic issues on exit during the festival’s most popular days – the festival was also the most well run we’ve seen to date. Should we go ahead and call it the best Bluesfest ever? Sure, why don’t we leave our coverage on that note…
Paul Simon Setlist
Gumboots
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
That Was Your Mother
Slip Slidin’ Away (Tribute to Phil Ramone)
My Little Town (Simon & Garfunkel song)
The Obvious Child
Crazy Love, Vol. II
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
So Beautiful or So What
Late in the Evening
Encore:
The Sound of Silence (Solo Acoustic) (Simon & Garfunkel song)
Kodachrome / Gone at Last
You Can Call Me Al
Encore 2:
Graceland
Pretty Thing (Bo Diddley Cover) – Simon on Harmonica!
Still Crazy After All These Years
Encore 3:
The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel song)
Additional input to article by Lucy Inglis.
