Byron Bay Bluesfest 2015 organisers have delivered some sad news today. Unfortunately, The Black Keys, one of the biggest draws on the annual event’s massive 2015 lineup have been forced to pull out of all of their Australian tour commitments, including Bluesfest.
“Due to drummer Patrick Carney’s serious shoulder injury, The Black Keys’ forthcoming concerts in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as part of their Turn Blue World Tour, have been cancelled and sadly this includes their performance at Bluesfest on Friday 3rd of April,” organisers write.
“We are very sorry to have to cancel our upcoming performances through April 23. Patrick sustained a dislocated and broken shoulder in January that required surgery,” reads a statement from the band.”
“Working with the doctors, surgeons and physiotherapists since January, we had expected Patrick to be ready to return to touring in April. The recovery process and physical therapy has taken longer than anticipated and unfortunately Patrick is still unable to perform and needs additional time to heal.
“We thank all of our fans for their ongoing support and we look forward to getting back on the road as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Festival DirectorPeter Noble has said, “We feel sorry for The Black Keys fans all over the world who were hoping to see them at Bluesfest and other venues which they have now had to cancel due to drummer Patrick Carney’s ongoing issues with his shoulder injury.”
“The injury occurred on January 3rd when Carney, who was on holiday on the Caribbean island of St Barts, went body surfing, and was slammed to the ground by a ‘humongous’ wave. Patrick’s shoulder was both dislocated AND broken in the accident.”
“Documents supplied to me state, Patrick has been regularly attending a Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Centre in Nashville and recovery seems to have been going to plan until a recent complication occurred after 10 weeks of treatment.”
“Patrick has now developed Adhesive Capsulitis, known as Frozen Shoulder, an infection, which has both delayed and complicated the healing process, and as a result, his doctor has advised he cannot go on tour currently and play the drums.”
“The Alabama Shakes have graciously agreed to close our Mojo stage on Good Friday in the slot that was formerly The Keys, and Paolo Nutini will appear immediately before them,” Noble continues.
“We are on the hunt for one more artist to play on Good Friday, and will let everyone know who that will be soon, so agents and managers get on the phones as well as email us with your artists.”
However, with the festival a mere week away, this will prove a humongous challenge. “I do need to say that this close to Bluesfest, it is going to be extremely difficult to get an international artist to play, given the requirements to get visas in time, however, we are keeping all options open,” writes Noble.
“We are working with the Band of Skulls international agent and management, as well as their Australian promoter, Secret Sounds to keep their tour on track including their Bluesfest performance.”
“The Band of Skulls were special guests on the Australian & New Zealand dates of The Black Keys tour, and now only have a few non Keys tour shows scheduled. We will do our best to help them hold their dates in.”
Refunds for Friday, 3rd April (only) will be made available from 9am Tuesday, 24th March until 5pm Friday, 27th March. Please email [email protected] or call the Bluesfest office directly on 02 6685 8310 to speak to a staff member.
If you wish to come on another day instead of the Friday or even change your three-day ticket combination you are more than welcome to do this, simply contact Bluesfest via the aforementioned channels.
The band’s cancellation of their Australian tour also means they will not perform during any of their scheduled headline tour dates or their highly anticipated headline spot during the debut of Rolling Green.
Byron Bay Bluesfest 2015
Angus & Julia Stone
Boy & Bear
Sticky Fingers
Jurassic 5 (second show)
Hozier
The Waterboys
Switchfoot
Hunter Hayes
Fly My Pretties
Music Maker Presents Super Chikan And Vasti Jackson
Diesel
Jeff Lang
Phil Wiggins & Dom Turner
Watussi Final Performances
Nikki Hill
The Rumjacks
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Augie March
Donavon Frankenreiter
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Justin Townes Earle
Declan Kelly Presents Diesel n’Dub featuring Emma Donovan, Alex Lloyd, Pat Powell, Radical Son, Tony Hughes
Ash Grunwald
Blue King Brown
The Beautiful Girls
Steve Smyth
Karl S. WilliamsLenny Kravitz
The Gipsy Kings feat. Nicolas Reyes & Tonino Baliardo
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Jurassic 5
John Mayall
Keb Mo
Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones
JJ Grey & Mofro
Tony Joe White
Jon Cleary
Trevor Hall
Serena Ryder
Jake Shimabukuro
Music Maker Foundation feat. Cool John Ferguson
Little Freddie King
Alabama Slim
George Stancell
Michael Franti’s SoulshineThe Black Keys
Zac Brown Band
Alabama Shakes
Train
Michael Franti & Spearhead
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions feat Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, & Vika And Linda Bull
Xavier Rudd and The United Nations
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Rebelution
Soja
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Beth Hart
Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls
Mariachi El Bronx
G. Love & Special Sauce
Pokey Lafarge
Band Of Skulls
Rockwiz Live
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Paolo Nutini
David GrayBen Howard
Counting Crows
Gary Clark Jr
Angelique Kidjo
Jimmy Cliff
Mavis Staples
Dispatch
Ruthie Foster
The Beat
Keziah Jones
Sheppard
Playing For Change
Thursday, 2nd April – Monday, 6th April 2015
Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay NSW
Tickets: Byron Bay Bluesfest | Moshtix | Ticketmaster
