Bali Blues Festival 2017: Another Feather in Bali's Cap
Jakarta. The upcoming Bali Blues Festival 2017, or BBF 2017, will be held on unspoiled Peninsula Island in Nusa Dua, Bali, on May 26-27, featuring performances from Indonesian and overseas musicians and bands.
BBF 2017 is a collaboration between Pregina Art and Showbiz Bali, Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Nusa Dua Bali and the Tourism Ministry.
The world-class blues festival, the first of which was held in 2015, has attracted many local and overseas visitors to the Island of the Gods.
It has played its part to support the government's Wonderful Indonesia marketing campaign that targets 15 million overseas visitors this year.
"There are a lot of blues and jazz fans out there. A festival like this always attracts many people," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said in a statement.
"To get more tourists to visit Bali, we need to create more interesting events like this," Arief added.
According to the minister, the BBF organizers had visited the famous Byron Bay Blues Festival in Australia in April to promote their event.
The Byron Bay Blues Fest, or BBBF, is the largest blues event in the world and regularly attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year.
The organizers of both festivals have agreed to support each other in future events.
A warm-up event for the festival, called the "Road to Bali Blues Festival Roadshow" will also be held at the Hardrock Café Bali on Sunday (21/05), featuring Sound Of Mine, The Bodhi, Bali Guitar Club, Ronaldgang and Bali Blues Brother Jamz.
Local state TV station TVRI Denpasar will also hold a concert on its courtyard on Friday to promote the festival.
BBF 2017 will feature finalists of the annual Sundown Blues Battle audition, John and Jail Story, Sunburst and Souledout.
Local bands will be represented by Northcross Road Singaraja, Brightsize Trio, Sound of Mine feat. Rio Sidik, The Bodhi, The Crazy Horse, Ronaldgang, Dialog Dini Hari, Bali Guitar Club and Ika and Soulbrothers.
The Damned & Dirty from the Netherlands and Raw Earth from Singapore will make up the overseas contingent this year.
The headliner on the first day of the festival will be Gugun Blues Shelter, who will collaborate with legendary jazz artist Indra Lesmana, Balawan and Gilang Ramadhan.
Highlights on the second day will include The Six Strings group, a collaboration between Indonesian guitarists Dewa Budjana, Eros, Tohpati, Baron and Baim.
The Krakatau Reunion — a reunion concert for classic '80s jazz pop band Krakatau — will end the last day of the festival on a high. All the original members of the band will be present, including Trie Utami, Indra Lesmana, Dwiki Dharmawan, Pra Budhi Dharma, Gilang Ramadhan and Donnie Suhendra.
Several communities in Bali will also be involved in the festival, including a photography community, a classic motorcycle club and a car lovers club.
In the first quarter of 2017, 43 percent out of the three million foreign tourists visiting Indonesia arrived through Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport.
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