Bluesfest 2010: A Mixtape

First published on 10 Feb 2010. Updated on 8 Apr 2010.

It’s an epic ten-hour journey by car from the heart of Sydney to Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, the new home of the annual Byron Bay Bluesfest. The drive can be daunting (especially around hour five when you start to regret not flying). But for the music fan with an eclectic ear, it is certainly a ride worth taking.

Bluesfest features an extraordinarily diverse lineup: a mix of blues, world, roots and rock acts – more than 200 in all – thrown onto six stages over the course of five days. The extended road trip gives you the perfect excuse to get to know this year’s Bluesfest players. Load up your iPod with some of these scheduled names:

Jack Johnson The king of lazy-day beach music is headlining the fest this year. In fact, his sets in Byron Bay will be the only performances he gives in Australia this summer. Expect material from his upcoming June release, currently in production at his solar-powered Mango Tree recording studio in Hawaii.
Download this: 'Bubble Toes', 'Breakdown' and the Black Eyed Peas’ 'Gone Going', a remixed and re-imagined version of Johnson’s 2003 hit, 'Gone.'

Ozomatli Put Ozo down as one of the top 10 great party bands to see before you die. The seven-piece Cali ensemble delivers heaps of Latin funk, rock and hip hop, laying down thick rhythmic helpings like layers of Los Angeles smog.
Download this: 'Como Ves', 'Saturday Night' and 'Love & Hope'.

Buddy Guy You simply can’t include blues in the title of your festival and not invite a legend like Buddy Guy. Well, you could, but good luck finding one (they’ve been dropping like flies). Guy came up in the world as a session guitarist at Chicago's famed Chess Records label in the 1960s. He is known for his passionate guitar work and mesmerising stage show.
Download this: 'First Time I Met the Blues' and 'Worried Mind.'

The Break The boys from Midnight Oil (Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie, Martin Rotsey) and Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes have rolled out this brand new surf rock project on Australian shores. The band spent time breaking in new material at clubs around Sydney in February.
Download this: 'Cylinders.'

Bebel Gilberto Gilberto’s hypnotic bossa nova delivery goes down easy, even if she is probably the least likely of artists you think you’d see at a blues fest. Gilberto oozes sexuality, whether singing in Portuguese or English. She is in Australia to promote her latest release, All in One.
Download this: 'Bim Bom' and 'Aganjú.'