Bumper blues bill, light rail point to epic music event
STAGE 2 of the light rail, a Grammy-winning international headline act and perfect weather are set to ensure bumper crowds at this weekend’s Blues on Broadbeach music festival.
Presented by Broadbeach Alliance, the award-winning event will treat an expected crowd of 180,000 to free performances in the streets, parks and venues of Broadbeach from Thursday to Sunday.
Alliance CEO Jan McCormick said occupancy in the precinct was sitting at almost 90 per cent a week out from the event.
“The blues crowds are a longer stay crowd – they spend 3.8 nights here on average and stay in everything from camping to five-star accommodation,” she said. “Some 68 to 70 per cent of them fly in from interstate but that could change with the light rail to Helensvale opening things up for the first time this year.”
Ms McCormick said local businesses were looking forward to the bump in trade the Commonwealth Games had failed to deliver many traders in the beachside precinct.
“Accommodation is really strong, sitting at around about the high 80 per cent mark, which is incredible, and a lot of accomdoation is also booked in Surfers,” she said.
“It’s become a event.
“It’s looking busier than the Games. The traders are looking forward to the boost they thought they’d get but didn’t get from the Games.”
The light rail to Helensvale is expected to open the festival up to crowds in the city’s north.
“We’ve funded additional trams and TransLink will have citywide extra staff to manage them,” Ms McCormick said. “We also have a massive Titans home game on Saturday night.”
This year’s bumper blues bill features a headlining set by US blues guitar star Robert Cray on the Surf Parade stage on Sunday – his first Australian appearance in more than a decade.
The festival will also extend its reach into Kurrawa Park this year, where a second main outdoor stage will host acts including psych-garage greats Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds, featuring members of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.