Bluesfest third lineup 2013:"A dream come true"

Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant leads the third lineup for Bluesfest 2013 – the announcement hyped as “possibly the greatest announcement in the history of Bluesfest”.

It’s 40 years since Robert Plant first toured Australia with Led Zeppelin, and he hasn’t toured Australia since his 1996 visit with Jimmy Page. For his Bluesfest tour over easter he’ll be joined by his current band – Sensational Shape Shifters – featuring members of Plant’s former backing band Strange Sensation including Justin Adams. The band’s sound is reportedly influenced by “the roots music of Mississippi, Appalachia, Gambia, Bristol and the foothills of Wolverhampton”.

Plant’s sets on his current South American Tour have included many Led Zeppelin songs – ‘Friends’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Bron-Y-Aur Stomp’, ‘Gallows Pole’, ‘Four Sticks’, ‘Going to California’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Ramble On’, and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ – plus covers of Bukka White, Bo Diddley, Howlin Wolf, and Tim Buckley. Plant has revealed that he has almost completed an album with his new band -“12 tracks, 11 originals and no sentimental stuff” – which will hopefully be released before the Bluesfest tour.

Pushing the festival lineup one step beyond, Madness have also joined the bill and will bring a set of classics and tracks from their new album Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da. The other acts in the third announcement include Status Quo, and the lead singers of Supertramp and Yes (Roger Hodgson and Jon Anderson, respectively). They join a bill that already features Santana, Jimmy Cliff, Iggy and The Stooges, Ben Harper, Rodriguez and Wilco.

Festival Director Peter Noble says that with this third lineup he really feels that Bluesfest 2013 is delivering the best in its history. “Bringing Robert Plant to Bluesfest is a dream come true,” says Noble. “We have waited together for so long and now it’s gonna happen – I am so delighted and hugely honoured. There are still more artists to be added in the upcoming weeks, but for now let’s revel in the wonderment of this third announcement.”

Bluesfest – third lineup announcement:

Robert Plant presents Sensational Space Shifters
Madness
Status Quo
Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)
Jon Anderson (Yes)

Previously announced acts:

Second announcement:
Jimmy Cliff
Joan Armatrading
Rodriguez
Robert Cray
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Mavis Staples
Allen Toussaint
Wanda Jackson
Fred Wesley & The New JB’s
Michael Kiwanuka
Bettye Lavette
Luka Bloom
Ruthie Foster
Tony Joe White
Sweet Honey In The Rock
The Duke Robillard Band
Shawn Colvin
Seth Lakeman

First announcement:
Ben Harper
Santana
Iggy and The Stooges
Chris Isaak
Steve Miller Band
Wilco
Dropkick Murphys
Glen Hansard with The Frames
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Newton Faulkner
Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls
Grace Potter
Playing For Change
Ben Caplan