BluesfestByron Bay Bluesfest has taken out the top spot on the Billboard Boxscore list for the week commencing 3 June, the second time it has done so.
The 2017 event pulled in a shade over $US9.9 million (about $13.3 million) over its five days, during which 105,123 punters passed through its gates to see artists such as Patti Smith & Her Band, Zac Brown Band, Jimmy Buffett, Santana, Nas, Neil Finn, Mary J Blige, Buddy Guy, Madness and more.
Its nearest competitor was a series of four sold-out concerts staged at London's O2 Arena in April featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, which drew a collective gross of almost $US6.4 million from their 71,135 attendees.
Bluesfest — which previously topped the Boxscore list in 2015 — was the only Australian event to achieve a result inside the top 20, though Patti Smith & Her Band's three sell-out headline shows in Sydney for Bluesfest Touring also bear mentioning, ranking #36 with gross ticketing revenue of $US652,337, while her two sold-out showings at Hamer Hall in Melbourne also made the list at #51, chalking up $US556,491.
"It is great to be on top of the Billboard Boxscore listing; second time for us at Bluesfest, what a thrill," festival director Peter Noble said in a statement. "Our 2017 festival was truly a great one, and now we are full on working on our 2018 edition next Easter.
"I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard, especially in our industry: the managers, artists, agents, production people, and every part of our supporting network. There are thousands of you… take a bow. You are brilliant."
The only other artist to crack the list from a performance Down Under was Hans Zimmer, whose performance at Perth Arena brought in $US453,740. Meanwhile, Smith's outing at Festival Hall on 20 April also made the top 100, taking #84 off $US338,546.
