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Live Review: Bluesfest 2016 – Day 3

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Any five-day camper can commiserate: Day 3 is a tough ride at any festival, let alone at Bluesfest. By Day 3, you’ve woken up with a (slight, if you’re lucky) lulling hangover that’s been exacerbated by walking around in the dry, Byron heat. Your limbs ache and you’ve begun to contemplate how nice a warm bath would be, considering you’ve been dancing your arse off for two consecutive days. Is your body even capable of powering through another day? Although you’re unsure how to answer that question, you leave the filth of your tent, get a life-saving double-shot espresso, and brace yourself for another soul-shaking twelve hours of music. After all, Bluesfest waits for no one.

“With a coffee in one hand and a beer in the other, I started my day off at the Crossroads stage”

With a coffee in one hand and a beer in the other, I started my day off at the Crossroads stage to see Washington native Allen Stone. With long, wavy blonde hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and an unmistakable beard, Stone appeared less like a west-coast American soul artist and more like a sandalled hippie cruising on the streets of Byron Bay. But regardless of how one interprets Stone’s quirky demeanor, he is a musician that shouldn’t be underestimated. Spoiler alert, folks: Allen Stone’s set was one of the best hours of my Bluesfest experience.

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“Allen Stone is Arethra Franklin, Jim Morrison, and Stevie Wonder chucked in a blender and imprinted in the pipes of one helluva lucky blonde AC/DC-shirted 25-year old”

A tell-tale sign that you’ve hit the jackpot of all gigs is when you find yourself having a blast without having previously heard the artist’s music. Stone’s charisma was effortless. His energy radiated to all of his audience members, and you couldn’t take your eyes off him. The crowd joined hands when he urged us to ask each other for “free love,” clapped along as he belted magical harmonies from Unaware and grooved to his cover of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know.  It wasn’t just Stone’s infectious stage presence and blossoming confidence that left me speechless; his voice was reminiscent of a bygone era of jazz and soul. Allen Stone is Arethra Franklin, Jim Morrison, and Stevie Wonder chucked in a blender and imprinted in the pipes of one helluva lucky blonde AC/DC-shirted 25-year old. Stone ended his set leaving the audience thirsty for more, but it was a lucky thing that the Washington native was scheduled to play again on Day 5.

The magic didn’t end with Allen Stone. Persuaded by an enthusiastic pal, I headed over to the Juke Joint stage to catch a bit of the Pierce Brothers’s set and, boy, was I grateful. The folk duo started off busking on the streets of Melbourne, and, thankfully, their talent had garnered enough attention to exponentiate both their audience and stage size. Although they’ve changed venues, twin brothers Jack and Pat Pierce’s busking roots and improvised talent are unmistakable. Playing favorites such as It’s My Fault and Overdose, their sound didn’t come from fancy synths or heavily planned beats, but rather from each other; drumming effortlessly on the edge of the other’s acoustic guitar wood. The Pierce Brothers emulate creative multitasking and improvised harmony at its best.

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Although the weather took a turn for the worse by late afternoon, Bluesfest-ers carried on with full force. I was convinced that you could dump enough rain to raise Noah’s Arc onto Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm and you still couldn’t stop fans from flooding to the Jambalaya stage in eager expectation of Nahko & Medicine For The People. The mud didn’t seem to phase the crowd–I winced when I came across the brave bare-footed souls who enthusiastically trudged ankle-deep in brown goop.

“there couldn’t be another group of musicians who embody the essence of Bluesfest more than Nahko & Medicine For The People”

In the case of my fellow mud-drenched Bluesfesters, bravery most certainly paid off. Hailing from Oregon, United States, Nahko & Medicine For The People is a world music collective formed to promote the integration of music from different cultures. In terms of music that bridges cultural gaps and promotes acceptance, there couldn’t be another group of musicians who embody the essence of Bluesfest more than Nahko & Medicine For The People. The group, fronted by Nahko Bear, an Oregon-native born of Apache, Puerto Rican, and Filipino descent, got us dancing to their powerfully uplifting numbers such as Aloha Ke Akua and Budding Tree.  Throughout their set, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Xavier Rudd, a musician whose beautiful harmonies convey very similar cultural themes of unity and racial acceptance.

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While it may have taken me three coffees and a mud-soaked poncho to power through Day 3 of Bluesfest, I slept in a rain-soaked tent that night with zero regrets and numerous new artists to add to my Spotify playlists. My warm bath would simply have to wait till Tuesday.

Check out the full Live Gallery for Day 3 HERE