Among the other acts last night were MC Tiki (Tiki Taane) and Dick "Magik" Johnson, Homebrew, Tim Richards and Blackbird.
BW managing director Toby Burrows expects another 1000 people to arrive today.
"Everything has been running nicely and the feedback from people has been very positive," he said.
"We have more people here this year - our biggest festival to date."
BW was the first event this summer to try out the new AWOP wristbands, which allow the carrier to buy food and drink using the chip in their wristband.
An accreditation spokesman said there were only a few problems with camping passes as some people tried to gain entry to the festival with someone else's tickets.
People who received their AWOP wristbands under someone else's accreditation had their chips frozen, said the spokesman.
Waiting times are a lot faster this year with quicker processing systems in place.
Mr Burrows said people were waiting no longer than half an hour to receive their passes.
"By 10am we had processed 4000 people and most campers were checked in by mid-afternoon," he said.
Queenstown's Tom Gurlay is on his first summer vacation in Gisborne and so far it has been more than he expected it to be.
"It is so hot here, it is pretty hard to adjust to this climate," he says.
Tonight the BW festival continues with Waikato-based Katchafire as the headline act.
Rhythm and Vines Festival kicks off tomorrow from 6pm.
