Bluesfest Sets Charity Record

Bluesfest set a new record of $120,000 (US$123,635) collected by 15 charity stalls on site.

The Cystic Fibrosis Association raised more than $50,000 (US$51,510) bringing the total raised at the festival to date $315,000 (US$324,540).

In five days during the Easter long weekend, 44 orangutans were adopted as part of The Orangutan Project, “its largest response at an event ever,” said Bluesfest co-founder Peter Noble.

Noble revealed 104,244 customers came over the five-day Easter holiday for a bill that included Paul Simon, Ben Harper, Robert Plant and Sensational Space Shifters, Santana, and Iggy & The Stooges.

Other international names included Wilco, Steve Miller Band, Counting Crows, Rodriguez, Chris Isaak, Rufus Wainwright, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray, Shuggie Otis and Bonnie Raitt, and Jon Anderson of Yes.

“The verdict seems to be in, (this was the) best Bluesfest yet,” Noble opined. It is the second-highest attendance figure in its 24-year history. The 2011 event headlined by Bob Dylan drew 115,000.

Bluesfest has started work on its 25th anniversary celebrations next April. More than 4,000 tickets have already been sold 12 months out.