Today, despite rescheduling due to the pandemic yet again, Bluesfest is contemplating how it will turn on the nation’s biggest celebration of homegrown artists next Easter – and potentially a new festival for international acts allowed into the country.

Bluesfest Festival Director Peter Noble confirmed that the festival, that had been rescheduled from last April to October at Byron Bay, will not proceed due to the Delta strain of coronavirus that continues to rampage through NSW communities.

“It is obvious that we cannot present Bluesfest in a safe manner in October, so we have re-scheduled back to our usual timing with dates over the Easter Long Weekend next year; a time we expect things to be returning to normal,” Noble said.

It has been a bumpy road over the past two years for Bluesfest, one of Australia’s largest annual music festivals seen as a “beacon of hope” for the struggling live music and arts sector that has been obliterated by the impacts of coronavirus outbreaks.

Noble has had to postpone the event twice in four months, and ultimately cancel it two years running. “We keep giving it a go,” Noble said.

“It’s not like it’s water off a duck’s back. We’d done the hard work to come back, but we’re not able to do so.

“It makes you wish the north coast was part of Queensland.”

Noble said the continually rescheduled festival had attracted a stellar list of headline Australian artists desperate to perform.

Music lovers were also craving the opportunity to get out to see live performances, he said.

“The funny thing that happens every time we reschedule is we have more artists,” Noble told ABC Gold Coast.

“You wait until you hear about next Easter, because I’ll tell you something, when the lockdowns end and we do announce the acts it will easily be biggest event of Australia and New Zealand artists ever seen in this country.”

Noble said organisers had sold more than 45,000 tickets to the October event. The festival capacity is 60,000.

“People love to see Australian artists… we would have sold out for sure,” he said.

“People will come out and see the Aussies, so we’re going to keep adding that.

“Maybe there’s even a brand new festival going forward as internationals are allowed to come back in. If they are allowed in, we’ll be having them as well.”

Bluesfest confirmed most of the acts who were to appear at the October event, including Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Pete Murray, Kasey Chambers, John Butler and Xavier Rudd, would be returning for the 2022 Easter dates.

New additions to the Easter 2022 line up will include Fat Freddy’s Drop, Josh Teskey and Ash Grunwald, John Williamson, C.W. Stoneking, and the return of Rockwiz LIVE.