Patti Smith & Four Less Obvious Bluesfest Debuts You Really Don't Want To Miss

In case you missed it, this morning saw the eagerly received revelation of the Byron Bay Bluesfest line-up headed to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm in April next year.

Bluesfest is an event that has historically prided itself on its sense of community, and that even extends to the artist roster; as a result, upon perusing the list of names set to make 2017's event one for the history books (aren't they all?), it would be exceedingly easy to get bogged down in focusing on having the chance to hear returning festival favourites such as Buddy Guy, Snarky Puppy, Jethro Tull and more once again, indicative of that highly social and familiar aspect of Bluesfest as they are.

Instead, let's look a little deeper, throw open those arms and give a warm, wide Bluesfest welcome to newcomers such as... 

Patti Smith

Well, we may as well start with the obvious call. She's a punk icon, a visual artist, an author, a poet and a fascinating human being all-round — and event headliner Patti Smith is also, somewhat astoundingly, a Bluesfest first-timer. That's right — over the past four decades, Smith has spearheaded a movement, write some books, be admitted to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, nab the Polar Music Prize, be named "Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Ministry Of Culture and even the odd Australian visit, she's not yet found the time to rock out at Bluesfest.

Thankfully, there's a first time for everything and it's always better late than never — be sure to be present when Patti Smith unleashes her seminal 1975 album Horses in full, lest you spend the remainder of your days in continual regret.

Andrew Bird

A multi-instrumentalist with two decades of experience as a performer under his belt, the always eclectic and enjoyable Andrew Bird will make his first-ever appearance at Bluesfest in April, which will see him step out in front of local audiences just over 12 months after the release of this year's Are You Serious LP. 

Bird's creative endeavours have been through multiple incarnations over the past 20 years, including his role as part of cult-favourite baroque-pop troupe Bowl Of Fire and a stint in swing-revival ensemble Squirrel Nut Zippers, but his greatest success has come during his storied time as a solo artist, and Bluesfest punters will have their inaugural chance to find out why at next year's event.

Joan Osborne

Another outlier and veteran performer from across the seas, Joan Osborne has had the misfortune of being overshadowed by the song that made her name. One Of Us, in which she spends several minutes musing on what God would do if he was unlucky enough to be a human being, was an instant global hit when it landed in 1995, ready to capitalise on the groundwork laid by the songs of forebears such as Alanis Morissette and just ahead of later successors such as Jewel.

Sadly, the size of that song — and its consequent tongue-in-cheek pop-culture value — ultimately obscured what has actually been a broadly acclaimed career in the ensuing decades; along with the obvious #1 for One Of Us, Osborne has released a further seven full-lengths in addition to her 1995 debut, picking up seven Grammy nominations along the way (the most recent of which was for 2012 covers album Bring It On Home, which was up for Best Blues Album). It'd be well worth getting along to her inaugural Bluesfest performance, not least of all to do her some overdue justice.

The Strumbellas

Acclaimed Canadian sextet The Strumbellas are yet another act who, it seems, have achieved enough for a lifetime in just a few years, without having visited us for Bluesfest. Granted, the band has had slightly less time to get onto it than some of the other entrants on this list — they only came together in 2009, to be fair — but looking at their accolade-riddled biography, you'd be forgiven for thinking that they'd been around far longer.

In their seven years together so far, The Strumbellas have not just been nominated for but actually won the prestigious Juno Award, as well as releasing three studio albums, one EP and a hit song (Spirits, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart) and racking up more than 40 million streams on Spotify. We're still trying to properly contextualise what sort of meaning streaming figures carry — streams do not necessarily reflect nominal users, after all, so aren't to be blindly trusted — but even if that number is the sole output from a group of hugely dedicated family and friends just repeat-streaming the shit out of the band's music, it's still a phenomenal figure any way you slice it. Take the chance to see what the fuss is about.

Dumpstaphunk

We'll be honest with you — even if 2017 wasn't going to be Dumpstaphunk's inaugural outing at Bluesfest, we'd be looking for a way to sneak them into this list, because they are frankly just that good. For the uninitiated, Dumpstaphunk are a New Orleans-bred funk/jazz/soul/blues/everything-in-between ensemble that positively embody the varied yet cohesive musical spirit those words immediately evoke.  

There's real pedigree in these ranks; band member and multi-instrumentalist Ivan Neville is the son of renowned R&B singer Aaron Neville as well as the nephew of members of legendary R&B/soul outfit The Neville Brothers. The band also feature's Ivan's cousin, Ian, and — together with fellow members Tony Hall, Nick Daniels III and Alvin Ford Jr — Neville has steered Dumpstaphunk from humble, impromptu origins to become one of New Orleans' most revered contemporary funk troupes currently doing the rounds.

The band's most recent album, Dirty Word, landed back in 2013, but with a live album due for release this year, fans and curious listeners alike will have a chance to get an idea of what they're in for when the band make their Bluesfest debut alongside the rest of these standout characters next year. 

Bluesfest 2017 will be held from 13-17 April at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm. Tickets are on sale now.