Australia: Tales from a Canadian Nomad: Rockin' it Down at Bluesfest

For the second time, I spent my Easter vacation in Byron Bay at Bluesfest. It is so much more than blues, I have to say, and the festival organizers sure know how to pull off an amazing festival with just a few minor irritations. Last year there were five of us, and this year there was just the two of us. It didn't matter - I had an absolute blast! Here are the highlights:

The choice of music was absolutely stellar - I didn't get to see everyone on my list but this is who I did manage to see - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Tijuana Cartel, Buddy Guy, Steve Earle & the Dukes, Seun Kunti & Egypt 80, The Soul Rebels, John Mayer, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals India Arie x 2, Jack Johnson, Aaron Neville, Gregg Allman, The Wailers (Bob Marley's band), John Butler Trio, Dave Matthews Band x 2, Gov't Mule, War x 2, Playing for Change, Passenger, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Jimmie Vaughan, and last but not least, KC & The Sunshine Band. The ones in bold were my absolute favorites.
meeting tons of people at the foot campers site. All of the camping was sectioned off based on how many days you were camping, and what kind of camping you were doing - there were those with campers, those with big tents and cars, those with rented tents or rented tipees, and then us - foot campers which tended to be mostly backpackers from all over the world, often here on their working holiday visa. We kind of created our own little camper community and we had by far, the best damn camping area. It was just outside the south gate, close to EVERYTHING, and we could come and go easily from the festival site.
the weather was killer and such an improvement on last year and from what I'm told, over all 24 previous years. We had sunshine and 25C every single day, with just a few clouds. No mud pits, or gum boots (rubber boots), raincoats or umbrellas required.
the food at the booths was so damn good I definitely took advantage of it. My top favorites were Mr Potato Head - a potato cut in a swirl and then deepfried - I liked the sweet potato best. The other favorite was the organic donuts - HUGE fresh donuts with lots of sugar cinnamon.
sneaking in booze - prices are outrageous for booze inside, so I found a way to easily do it - I bought a bottle of vodka, and filled up little watertight salad dressing cups (1.5 oz) and just tucked them into my purse. When they do the bag check, they only grab the bag and look for bottles or cans, heavy stuff. A little salad dressing container weighs so little and didn't come to anyone's attention. Then I bought a frozen slushie drink, either a pine-lime from Mr Potato Head, or a frozen raspberry Fanta, and dumped in my shots. In the hot sun, they were AMAZING! And for drinking back at the tent, I just ducked in for another slushie and drank at my tent.
the foot camping area was right next to a beautiful forest where we would hide out from the sun and sniffer dogs for a jam session, guitars, harmonicas and a bong, lol.
Shuttle from the Gold Coast airport direct to the festival and picked up there to head back - so convenient!
charging our phones each morning at the ticket gate around the corner - until 10am, we could plug in where they normally would plug in the ticket scanners. So I'd just get up in the morning and charge while reading my book. With my phone in airplane mode, it charged twice as fast.
the friends I made at camp - some from Melbourne, others from Chile, or other parts of Australia. We had such a good time hanging out. The friend I went to the festival with was not feeling well for much of it, and was sleeping in her tent so I hung out with all the others while she rested.
HUGE small world moment - while hanging my Canadian flag in the trees next to my tent, I heard a shout out from another Canadian (as usually happens - we love to flock to our flag!) and we sat in the woods for a session and within minutes discovered that she knew my daughter and many other people I knew in Whitehorse. Who knew I would be living in Australia, at a music festival in NSW and run into someone who knew my daughter...small world indeed.
stall shopping - always something to buy! I was a bit shorter on funds this year, but still managed to bring home a nice skirt, hand dyed knit sweater, some jewelry, a gorgeous Dave Matthews t-shirt for his Australian tour, and of course, a Bluesfest t-shirt, tea towel and bag.
the beach was bloody amazing at Byron Bay. The water was so inviting I just walked right on in. The undertow was very strong that day, so I didn't stay in long, given I was alone. I dipped my toes in several times on other days as well. There was a shuttle to town every 20 minutes.

I can't even say how damn much I enjoyed Dave Matthews Band after listening to them for years, missing a chance to see them in California, and then being able to see them twice at Bluesfest. It was magical. I danced my friggin ass off to DMB as well as all the others. My only regret is that I should have left Jack Johnson to catch some of The Doobie Brothers. I've listened to their music for decades...damn. I'll have to try and catch them in America sometime.

Again, can't say enough about the venue and festival organizers. I never waited more than 30 seconds in line for the gate, and always found somewhere to sit down at a table in the shade to eat. I could walk from one end of the site to the other in less than 5 minutes, which made it super easy to jump from stage to stage to catch as much music as I could. The rubbish bins were plentiful and emptied often, and the portapotties were plenty. I never waited more than a minute or two for one and they always had toilet paper, a functioning light, and were reasonably clean. The booze tents were next to every stage and I never waited more than a minute in line when I did actually buy beers inside. You can take your drink ANYWHERE in the festival which is such a departure from Canadian festivals where you must consume your alcohol in the beer tent, away from the stages...utterly stupid. And I saw absolutely NO DRAMAS on the festival grounds because of it.