Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival

The Blues on Broadbeach Music Festival is an annual three-day event celebrating blues and roots, and Americana music genres. Held in May along the Broadbeach strip on the Gold Coast, Australia, it attracts hundreds of music lovers and artists from around the country. The open-air festival offers a lively program of live performances, workshops, jam sessions, and cultural activities in a relaxed beachside atmosphere.

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image credit: https://bluesonbroadbeach.com

The 2023 event was a great success, with plans already underway for the 2024 edition. Headlining artists confirmed so far include Grammy-nominated blues rockers Daddy Long Legs and roots rock band The Weeping Willows. Other performers on the bill range from contemporary blues singers to acoustic duos. New for 2024 is a full day of workshops with renowned artists passing on expertise in harmonica, guitar, and songwriting. A kids’ entertainment zone will also be introduced on Saturday afternoon.

Event Background

The Blues on Broadbeach Festival originated in 2013 with a small one-day concert organized by Gold Coast musician Charlie Stafford. Held at Beach Bar Broadbeach, it aimed to bring together the region’s blues community. Word of mouth led to steady growth, with the festival expanding to two days by 2017.

Notable milestones included attracting international artists in 2020 and introducing an additional “unplugged” stage for acoustic performances.

After challenging pandemic-impacted years, the 2022 edition saw record crowds of over 3,000 enjoy 30 local and interstate acts across multiple venues. 2023 was even larger, perhaps the largest yet, featuring 70 artists across 16 stages including the headline act of guitarist Tommy Emmanuel.

Now firmly established, the festival continues fostering the blues scene on the Glitter Strip.