Bluesfest to Expand to Melbourne in 2023

Bluesfest will stage an additional blues and roots festival event in Melbourne in 2023.

The two-day event will take place on Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9, crossing over with the original Bluesfest Byron Bay which will run from the 6th to the 10th.

Unlike the Byron Bay event, however, Bluesfest Melbourne will take place indoors at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, which organisers said would be transformed into a "full weather-proof festival precinct".

The indoor version of the long-established festival comes after numerous festivals and event sites across the country have been plagued by washouts and extreme weather.

Bluesfest Melbourne has the likes of Ash Grunwald, Buddy Guy, The Doobie Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass, Henry Wagons, Kaleo, Kasey Chambers, Keb' Mo', Lucinda Williams, Paolo Nutini, Robert Glasper and Steve Earle on the bill.

Peter Noble, Bluesfest chief and founder, has joined forces with Melbourne-based music industry veteran Neil Crocker to present the new event.

He said he can already see the new event becoming an absolute must-see on the annual events calendar.

"I am so excited to be bringing Australia’s leading music festival, Bluesfest Byron Bay down south to present a first of its kind two-day indoor music festival," he said.

"We’ll be bringing some of the absolute premium international and local artists who perform at Bluesfest alongside the fantastic Melbourne artists to create an experience for music lovers that is unprecedented in this city. Offering patrons the chance to see more than 30 performances over a two0day period in an environment that is weatherproofed, accessible and safe, right in the heart of the Melbourne and Docklands area."