A unique Bluesfest show and three special sideshow performances announced!
We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming the iconic rocker, singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge for her This Is M.E. Australian tour, including her long-awaited Bluesfest debut on Sunday 27th March 2016.
This will be Melissa’s first visit to Australia since 2012 and if you really, really can’t make it to Bluesfest this year (or wish to see Melissa Etheridge more than once), she will also be performing at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday 23rd March, the Palais Theatre in Melbourne on Wednesday 30th March and the Riverside Theatre in Perth on Friday 1st April 2016.For more information on her touring dates click here.
Melissa Etheridge will be joining the Bluesfest Sunday line-up alongside major artists Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, Jackson Browne, The Decemberists, The Wailers, The Cat Empire and so many more.
Easter Sunday at Bluesfest is going to be one day & night not to be missed. True to Bluesfest tradition, the line up will continue to grow in lead up to the 2016 Festival. 33 artists of the 100+ artists to come to Bluesfest have now been announced. Certain ticket allocations are running low, so come on board and lock in your Bluesfest journey now!
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Bluesfest Festival Director, Peter Noble comments on the new addition to the line-up:
All about Melissa Etheridge:
“Melissa Etheridge is coming to Bluesfest. She is a legend, an inspiration to so many, a simply brilliant live performer. Just listen to the cheers when she walks on the Bluesfest stage. She has won two Grammy awards and received 17 nominations. She has won an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Song for the Documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Melissa Etheridge’s set at Bluesfest will be remembered as one of the great performances. Melissa Etheridge is a leader, she is a great musician, a great campaigner for human rights, an environmentalist, a cancer survivor and it is simply an honour to present her at Bluesfest and on her Australian tour.”
An Academy Award and Grammy winning artist, Etheridge, will take the stage to perform songs from her new album, This is M.E., as well as some of her greatest hits like ‘Come to My Window’, ‘I’m The Only One’, ‘Bring Me Some Water’, ‘Like the Way I Do’ and ‘I Want To Come Over’. Known for her iconic raspy, smoky vocals, profound lyrics and riveting stage presence; Melissa will share personal stories about her remarkable journey through life and the inspiration behind some of her most beloved songs.
Since Melissa Etheridge stormed onto the American rock scene in 1988 with the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, she has been nominated for 17 Grammys and won 2, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘I Need to Wake Up’ from Al Gore’s renowned documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Etheridge even has her own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame among her many accolades.
Melissa carved and led a niche in modern rock through her honest and courageous approach to song writing and performance. Early in her recording career, Etheridge acknowledged her sexual orientation when it was considered less than prudent to do so. It gave way not only to the world embracing both Melissa and her music, but an ally and champion for the LGBT community.
.jpg?resize=300%2C213 "melissa etheridge - sunday, 27 march 2016 @ bluesfest!")
In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, a health battle that, with her typical tenacity, she won. Despite losing her hair from chemotherapy, Etheridge appeared on the 2005 Grammy telecast to sing ‘Piece of My Heart’ in tribute to Janis Joplin. By doing so she gave hope to many women afflicted with the disease.
Melissa’s latest album This is M.E. is her 12th collection of new material. The powerful lyrics, incomparable voice, indelible melodies, and blazing guitars could be from no one else.
Not only a blues rock megastar, song writing hit maker, and phenomenal guitarist, but tireless advocate for human rights and social change, Melissa Etheridge is a force, and a talent we are honoured to have at Bluesfest and on tour around Australia.
Melissa Etheridge will perform at Bluesfest on Sunday 27th of March!
BLUESFEST 2016 ARTISTS ALREADY ANNOUNCED:
.jpg?resize=580%2C821 "melissa etheridge - sunday, 27 march 2016 @ bluesfest!")
Bluesfest Touring News:
Bluesfest Touring have also announced a number of additional (& incredible) sideshows happening around Bluesfest next March and April including the Grammy award winning Blues and Roots Rock group Tedeschi Trucks Band, Portland’s Indie Folk band The Decemberists, The Word, Vintage Trouble,Nahko & Medicine For The People, Songhoy Blues, Shakey Graves, AllenStone, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and Rhiannon Giddens. Show details and more information can be found at www.bluesfesttouring.com.au.
