Turns out Bluesfest is punching pretty high on the global festival circuit. The annual Worldwide Festival Grosses have just been released by Pollstar – the trade publication that supplies information to professional concert promoters, booking agents and more – with the Byron Bay camping bash coming in at 8th overall for biggest moneymaker in 2022.
Two other Aussie festivals also made the cut, with Queensland’s CMC Rocks coming in at number 15 and Moyston’s Pitch Music & Arts Festival ranking 18th on the list.
WATCH: Bluesfest 2023 Promo
The USA’s Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival came in at #1, followed by Germany’s Rock Im Park second and Brazil’s Lollapalooza taking out the bronze medallion.
“We are so pleased to be number eight (8) in Pollstar’s year-end Top Worldwide Top Festival Grosses, especially as Bluesfest 2022 featured primarily Australian artists such as Midnight Oil, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Crowded House and the Cat Empire and top New Zealand artists such as Fat Freddy’s Drop, L.A.B and Six 60 with just a sprinkling of internationals,” Bluesfest boss Peter Noble OAM said in a press statement.
“We would like to thank the artists, agents, managers, and everyone involved in bringing us this incredible result. Especially, the Bluesfest team.”
And the fest isn’t slowing down in 2023, with an ever-expanding lineup that so far features Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Gang of Youths, Counting Crows, Elvis Costello, The Doobie Brothers and a heap more. You can peep the full roster (so far) here.
Bluesfest 2023 will take place, as usual, over Easter weekend, kicking off on Thursday, 6th April and running until Monday, 10th April at Byron Events Farm. All tickets are on sale now through the website.
Meanwhile, Bluesfest has also been nominated for the 34th Annual Pollstar Awards in the category of International Music Festival of the Year, with the likes of the Glastonbury Festival and Lollapalooza, Brazil. The awards will be held in February 2023.
You can peep Pollstar’s full list of highest grossing music festivals worldwide for 2022 below.
1) Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival (USA)
2) Rock In Park (Germany)
3) Lollapalooza Brazil (Brazil)
4) Rock am Ring (Germany)
5) Hurricane Festival (Germany)
6) CMA Music Festival (USA)
7) Southside Festival (Germany)
8) Bluesfest (Australia)
9) Nova Rock Festival (Austria)
10) Electric Daisy Carnival (Mexico)
11) Pa’L Norte (Mexico)
12) Deichbrand Rock (Germany)
13) FM4 Frequency Festival (Austria)
14) Vive Latino (Mexico)
15) CMC Rocks (Australia)
16) Una. Nessuna. Centomila. (Italy)
17) Highfield Festival (Germany)
18) Pitch Music & Arts Festival (Australia)
19) Rosendal Garden Party (Sweden)
20) Tempelhof Sounds (Germany)
Further Reading
Bluesfest Just Locked in a Heap More Acts for 2023 Festival
