Jimmy Barnes returns to the stage three months after heart surgery: 'It's good to be here'

Jimmy Barnes has made his grand return to the stage after undergoing open heart surgery in December. 

In his first performance of the year, the Aussie icon began his set at Bluesfest in Byron Bay on Sunday night with some crowd favourites. 

After singing his famed track Working Class Man, Barnes, recently overcame a bacterial infection that spread to his heart, told the crowd, "It's good to be here."

"It's good to be f---ing anywhere." 

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Watch the video above.

The rocker also played Resurrection Shuffle, a tribute to his health issues and the same tune he performed while opening for Bruce Springsteen on Easter Saturday at Hanging Rock, Victoria, in 2013. 

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The singer announced to fans in February that he would perform at the annual Byron Bay music festival, marking his first time on stage since November.

The festival was headlines by Ben Harper, Tom Jones, Elvis Costello and Jerome Williams. 

Throughout his recovery, Barnes has kept fans updated via social media, and his family has also been sharing news on his health. 

Barnes recently took to Instagram to tease new music coming this month.

"Aside from working on my fitness and health, these holidays have given me time to create, I've written a couple of new songs," he wrote.

In late November 2023, the Cold Chisel frontman apologised to his fans in a Facebook post revealing he was fighting bacterial pneumonia.

"I'm sorry to let you know that I've been receiving intravenous antibiotics over the last 36 hours to treat bacterial pneumonia," Barnes' message began.

"Unfortunately, this has stopped me travelling to Noumea to join Rock The Boat 2023 as planned," he continued.

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"I'd like to apologise sincerely to everyone for the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused, but the doctors have confined me to bed for 2 days," Barnes wrote.

The rocker intends to perform more now he is in recovery. 

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