Bluesfest Casually Add Mary J Blige, Corinne Bailey Rae To 2017 Bill

Christmas, Easter and your birthday just came early - the second round of artists announced for the 28th annual Bluesfest is going to knock your cotton socks off.

Added to their brimming roster of incredible female headliners and epitomising the soul/R&B flavour of Bluesfest’s second announcement are Grammy-winning artists Mary J Blige and Corinne Bailey Rae. With 32 Grammy nominations, 50 million records and 25 million singles sold, Mary J. Blige is at the top of everyone’s list of all-time golden R&B artists.

Corinne Bailey Rae will be gracing the Bluesfest stage for the first time in 2017, too, so Put Your Records On and embrace the groove that has taken her from fronting indie band Helen back in 1998 to selling over five million albums and becoming a two-time Grammy winner. Rising star Michael Kiwanuka is also joining the Bluesfest family Down Under, bringing the sweet soul tunes from his latest release Love & Hate all the way from the UK.

With five days over the Easter long weekend from 13 to 17 April, immerse yourself in spectacular music, mouth-watering food and drink and more stalls than you can throw a credit card at. Nahko & Medicine For The People will bring their global flavours to the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm on their return to the festival, bringing with them tunes from their third full-length HOKA, described by frontman Nahko as “the soundtrack of the movement for a better planet".

There will also be first time Bluesfest appearances from Gallant and Houston’s award-winning 10-piece The Suffers. L.A.’s Gallant is fast becoming the future of soul, while eclectic collective The Suffers will dip your toes in influences from jazz to Southern hip hop to classic rock’n’roll. 

Today's additions join a spectacular array of artists such as Patti Smith playing Horses, Bonnie Raitt, Jethro Tull, Buddy Guy and many more.