Sampa The Great, Big Freedia & More Missing From Bluesfest Schedule

Bluesfest has today released its 2023 daily playing schedule, which has been met with some confusion by fans.

Social media commentators have pointed out some notable omissions from the schedule, including Sampa The Great, who was announced last week, and international talent in the form of The Soul Rebels, Big Freedia, Talib Kweli and GZA.

Neither the festival nor any of the missing artists announced they had cancelled prior to today's schedule release.

Sampa The Great late this afternoon confirmed to Double J that she would not be performing. 

"We started contact with Bluesfest to inform them of our standpoint within half an hour of receiving the embargoed press release and seeing the remainder of the line-up. We then delivered final confirmation to Bluesfest at 7:36pm AEDT on Tuesday 14 February that Sampa was coming off the line-up, in the hopes they would remove her from all materials before they announced the following day."

The other missing artists have not made statements on their Bluesfest appearances, and there is no suggestion that their omission is connected to Sticky Fingers' inclusion.

Also missing from today’s schedule reveal are prolific psych-rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, who withdrew from the April event on Monday in response to controversial rock act Sticky Fingers being added to the line-up last week. 

"As a band and as human beings, we stand against misogyny, racism, transphobia and violence," the band said in an Instagram statement. 

"Surprised and saddened to see Bluesfest commit to presenting content that is in complete opposition to these values. Given this decision by the festival, we have decided to cancel our appearance at Bluesfest. 

“We are deeply disappointed to be in this position but sometimes you need to be willing to make sacrifices to stand up for your values. This is, unfortunately, one of those moments.”

Last week’s sixth line-up announcement featured Sampa The Great alongside a heartfelt tribute to Uncle Archie Roach in conjunction with the Archie Roach Foundation and Fools and Jerome Williams.

Sticky Fingers' inclusion in that announcement drew social media attention due to the band's well-documented history of alleged altercations, internal band fights and struggles with alcohol addiction and mental health issues.

Yesterday, Bluesfest director Peter Noble released a statement to the media addressing the situation.

“I was and remain proud to give the band a chance at rehabilitation,” Noble said.

“Bluesfest hopes that the public will understand, respect, and hopefully, on reflection, agree with the position my company and I have taken. Forgiveness is critical to helping people with mental health challenges continue functioning in society.”

Byron Events Farm will host Bluesfest from Thursday the 6th to Monday the 10th of April.