Ticket sales were below what organisers had targeted,but they were encouraged by “the feedback so far,terrific sound quality and lots of smiles,” co-director Neil Croker said.
Outdoor music festivals have a tendency to bring strangers together with people mingling in between performances. After each indoor show at Bluesfest Melbourne,patrons instead leave the performance space and move to another show,or relax in the ample hallway seating.
The hallways and spaces connecting the theatres feels like a shopping centre,or the lobby of hotel,but shows do overlap,meaning patrons can easily move from one show to another.
It’s a formula that requires fine-tuning,and potentially some smaller,more intimate stages. Despite a sterile mood away from the live music,high-quality shows were a winner with the fans.
Strolling between stages,festival-goers sipped coffee,and peered through floor-to-ceiling glass walls at dark skies and rain falling outside. As a way of combatingcancelled festivals due to dangerous or unpredictable weather conditions,Bluesfest Melbourne could be a sign of the future.
A tiered ticketing system gave patrons a choice of day passes,weekend passes,headline performances in the 5,000 seat Plenary Theatre,or a combination of day passes and headline shows each day and night.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary,California’s Doobie Brothers headlined the festival on Saturday night,and Sunday’s headliner was Scotland’s Paolo Nutini.