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“The last few years, we always seemed to be searching for the last one or two headliners and it was getting later and later,” said Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan in an interview in his office at Festival House, the renovated church that serves as the festival’s headquarters. “I think we definitely made a concerted effort to come up with a game plan early. It was last summer, really, when we came up with a plan of what we wanted. It doesn’t always work out but we felt we had to be ahead of the game. Things just fell into place this year.”

Sure enough, the program is surprisingly strong considering the economic climate. Not only is there increased competition for acts from other North American festivals, but also Canadian bookers have to squeeze more out of our shrinking dollar.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

“There are always those challenges, whether it’s the cost of the dollar or the cost of the act, but at the end of the day, you have a budget you’re working with and you try to make the most of it,” Monahan said, pegging the festival budget at $15 million, about half of which is earmarked for talent.

A key part of the game plan is to present something for everyone, with emphasis on four genres that have become pillars of Bluesfest’s success in recent years: Vintage rock, country, electronic-dance music and hip hop. “The approach that’s worked out well this year is to have a pretty well-rounded lineup,” Monahan said.

In addition to Chili Peppers, Idol, Jackson and Duran Duran, the vintage-rock scene will be filled out by CCR’s John Fogerty, Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry, the Cult and the Monkees’ 50th anniversary tour. Perennial fave Ben Harper will bring his beloved Innocent Criminals band, while Oasis’s Noel Gallagher leads his High Flying Birds to their Bluesfest debut and the Alvin brothers (Dave and Phil) return with Barry and the Blasters.