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Ultimately, however, there was cash aid for Bluesfest from the government. Noble says without that assistance Bluesfest may have ceased to exist.
Noble is already well into planning next year’s event, teasing that he has a number of international stars in his sights.
Amadou & Mariam were a festival favourite.Credit:Edwina Pickles
“I’m not about putting on a traditional blues festival,” he adds. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to work with older artists. But I also want to work with those who are, to me, going to be the next greats.
“If I was strictly a blues festival, we’d have maybe 4000 people on site with Jack Daniels T shirts being stretched. I want to put on a popular music festival, that is not primarily playing what you’ll see on the charts, or Triple J programming.”
After a career in the industry spanning nearly 50 years, which he began as a bass player, Noble still retains his enthusiasm for music.
Stan Walker provided a blistering set on the Friday.Credit:Edwina Pickles
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“I love the fact that I can be now into what some may think is the latter part of my career and still be discovering new music,” he says.
“It’s not Live Nation and it’s not all about teenagers. I’m just this little indie guy down in Australia that just cares about … I used to call it real music … but a lot of people don’t like that. So let’s just say the greats or the next generation of the greats. Yeah, that’s what I want to do.”