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Bluesfest promoter issues statement about second controversy to hit 2023 edition

By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 7 March 2023

The organiser of Australian festival Bluesfest has commented on a second controversy that has popped up in relation to this year’s edition of the event, having attempted to kill the first controversy by cancelling the booking of the artist that caused it.

That first controversy related to the inclusion of Sticky Fingers on the line-up for Bluesfest 2023. The Australian band’s frontman Dylan Frost has been at the centre of a number of controversies in recent years, with accusations of racism, misogyny, transphobia and violence made against him a number of times between 2016 and 2018. Frost has denied some of the allegations, and put others down to alcohol abuse and mental health issues.

Their booking by Bluesfest caused a bunch of new criticism, including from other artists set to play the festival. So much so, both King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard and Sampa The Great announced that they were pulling out of the event, being unwilling to share the bill with Frost.

Bluesfest promoter Peter Noble initially defended the Sticky Fingers booking, insisting that Frost’s bad conduct was in the past and that he deserved a second chance.

“They are a seriously great Australian band whose singer has had to overcome barriers that would have sidelined all but the most determined to continue to perform”, Noble said. “Yes, he has transgressed in the past, but not for many years. I question why there is such an ongoing witch-hunt toward a man with a mental health disorder. A man who is attempting to grow and function in society”.

Noble basically hasn’t changed his position on Frost, even though last week he confirmed Sticky Fingers were not longer on the line-up for Bluesfest 2023.

He said in a statement: “Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition, and we apologise to those artists, sponsors and any others we involved in this matter through our mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is built”.

“The narrative that they continue to deserve to be cancelled, as well as anyone who publicly supports them, is difficult to accept”, he went on, “wherein a portion of society and media passes eternal judgment toward those, in this case, a diagnosed mentally ill person whom we feel doesn’t deserve the continued public scrutiny he’s being given”.

“We thank everyone who has contacted us and advised their support in this matter”, he added, “especially those suffering from a mental illness who feel they cannot have their illness supported in a manner whereby they feel included in society”.

He then concluded: “Sticky Fingers has done so many good deeds that have never been reported, including building and funding recording studios and music education programmes in disadvantaged regional communities. We will now move on, put this behind us and continue to plan and present our best-ever edition of Bluesfest… proudly”.

But don’t be thinking that means there are now no ongoing Bluesfest controversies. Because, while still dealing with Sticky Fingers related criticism, Noble last month also found himself under fire from another set of artists that had been booked to play the 2023 edition of his festival.

However, those artists – including The Soul Rebels, GZA, Talib Kweli, and Big Freedia – weren’t objecting to other bookings at the festival, but rather that they themselves had disappeared from the Bluesfest line-up, apparently without warning.

And, it transpired, that little group had been expecting to not only play Bluesfest on their trip from the US to Australia, but also some other shows produced by Bluesfest Touring.

“The tour of The Soul Rebels, GZA, Talib Kweli, and Big Freedia was cancelled by Peter Noble and Bluesfest in bad faith and in breach of contract”, a management rep for The Soul Rebels told Double J last month. “The artists had fully executed signed contracts with Peter Noble and had already booked travel to Australia and were looking forward to returning to the country to perform for their fans”.

Alluding to the other then still ongoing Bluesfest controversy, that spokesperson also added: “These are all black artists and Big Freedia is an LGBTQ icon. It appears the tour may have been replaced by other artists including Sticky Fingers. We are uncertain about who else on Bluesfest may have also been cancelled”.

Noble immediately rejected the version of events as described by The Soul Rebels management, while insisting that their removal from his festival’s line-up was entirely unrelated to the Sticky Fingers booking and subsequent fallout.

With the Soul Rebels dispute looking like it might be about to go legal, Noble issued a formal statement to Billboard on Friday, stating simply that: “The Soul Rebels contract was terminated because they did not comply with the contractual terms. By that, we mean, Soul Rebels, Big Freedia, GZA and Talib Kweli”.

Bluesfest 2023 will take place from 6-10 Apr. We await with interest to see if any more dramas occur between now and then.