Overview
He won't have two turntables with him, but he will be getting behind a microphone — 90s icon Beck, that is, at Bluesfest 2023. The 'Loser', 'Where It's At', 'Devil's Haircut' and 'Sexx Laws' singer has just been added to the Byron Bay festival's already-huge lineup, and he'll be playing an intimate acoustic show on his first-ever visit to the event.
Beck will head to Australia almost three decades after 'Loser' brought him to fame, and got lodged in every 90s teen's head for the entire decade (and ever since). He has a hefty list of material to draw upon, though, thanks to 14 records since his 1993 debut album Golden Feelings, including 1996's acclaimed Odelay and 1998's Midnite Vultures.
Yes, start making Easter plans now if you haven't already. Those dates: Thursday, April 6–Monday, April 10, which is when the annual festival returns to Byron Events Farm at Tyagarah for its 34th event.
Beck joins a lineup that already includes Elvis Costello, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt and Gang of Youths leading the bill, plus Jackson Browne, Tash Sultana, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jimmy Barnes with The Barnestormers, and Talib Kweli, GZA and Big Freedia as special guests of The Soul Rebels.
As usual, Bluesfest's roster of talent spans a hefty array of music genres — blues and roots, obviously, but also soul, rock, hip hop, R&B and more — with Beth Hart, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and The Dukes, The Cat Empire and Xavier Rudd also set to take to the stage. Rockwiz Live will be doing its thing, too, in the perfect setting.
With Beck's addition, 50 acts have been announced for what organisers are calling "the first original style Bluesfest since the world's borders re-opened". While the fest went ahead in 2022 after two years of pandemic cancellations (and a thwarted temporary move to October for the same reason), it showcased a primarily Australian and New Zealand lineup. With the return of international travel, Bluesfest can welcome top-notch acts from around the globe again.
BLUESFEST 2023 LINEUP:
19-Twenty
Allison Russell
The Barnestormers
Beck
Beth Hart
The Black Sorrows
Bonnie Raitt
Buddy Guy
The Cat Empire
Chain
Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram
Counting Crows
The Doobie Brothers
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Eric Gales
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force
Gang of Youths
Greensky Bluegrass
Jackson Brown
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Camilleri Presents: A Star-Studded Tribute to the Greats of the Blues
Jon Stevens
Kaleo
Keb' Mo' Band
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Lachy Doley and The Horns of Conviction
Larkin Poe
Lp
Lucinda Williams
Marcus King
Mavis Staples
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats
Nikki Hill
Robert Glasper
Rockwiz Live
The Soul Rebels & Friends with special guests Talib Kweli, GZA and Big Freedia
Southern Avenue
Spinifex Gum featuring Marliya
Steve Earle & The Duke
St Paul & The Broken Bones
Tash Sultana
Vintage Trouble
Xavier Rudd
Bluesfest 2023 will run from Thursday, April 6–Monday, April 10 at Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah. Season passes are on sale now. For further information, head to the Bluesfest website.