Updated ,first published
Byron Bay music festival Bluesfest has entered liquidation and organisers have axed the event weeks ahead of its scheduled opening, blaming the cancellation on rising costs.
Headliners for the five-day event in northern NSW from April 2 to April 5 were to include Split Enz, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sublime, 19-Twenty, The Wailers and Erykah Badu.
Organisers confirmed the event’s cancellation in a statement on the festival’s website on Friday afternoon, saying ticket holders would be contacted by liquidators about how to get a refund. The NSW government, which has provided funding for the event since 2009, described the cancellation as “deeply disappointing”.
“After 36 years as Australia’s most awarded music festival, Byron Bay Bluesfest has made the difficult decision not to proceed with the 2026 event,” festival organisers said in the statement.
“We are deeply saddened by this outcome and the impact it will have on our artists, staff, partners, vendors and the many loyal Bluesfest fans who have been part of the festival’s journey for more than three decades.”
“Rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, together with a more challenging environment for major live events, mean it is not possible to deliver the festival to the standard audiences, artists and partners expect.
In a separate statement released to the media, Bluefest’s director Peter Noble said the decision to pull the plug on the festival was “incredibly difficult” and announced a liquidator had been appointed to manage the festival.
“A liquidator has been appointed to manage all financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations. Ticket holders, including parking pass customers and campers, will be contacted directly by the appointed liquidator with further information regarding the process for submitting claims and any potential refund arrangements.”
Since its inception in 1990, Bluesfest has hosted artists including Bob Dylan, Jimmy Barnes, Santana, Midnight Oil, and Kendrick Lamar. Its numbers swelled near capacity to about 100,000 in 2025 – compared with about 70,000 in 2024 – following Bluesfest’s announcement that it would be its last show.
In August 2024, Noble said Bluesfest 2025 would be the last show due to rising costs, the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic, slow ticket sales and a perceived lack of government support.
Later in December 2024, as ticket sales gathered momentum, Noble appeared to backflip, telling industry website IQ he “would always find a way” to put on the event.
Noble admitted some of Bluesfest’s 2025 attendees may have bought tickets thinking it would be their last chance, saying: “They’re not all here because of that statement by me … some are, I’ll cop to that, but they’re here because they want things like this.”
The NSW government has supported Bluesfest since 2009. It said it could not disclose how much it had provided for the event during that time as it is commercial in confidence.
The festival received $500,000 to put on its 2026 show, said one source with knowledge of the funding but who is not authorised to speak publicly. The source said that now the festival has been cancelled, Bluesfest is contractually obliged to repay the grant.
A spokesperson for the state government said the organisers’ decision to cancel the 2026 event was “deeply disappointing”.
“Events like Bluesfest bring substantial economic and cultural benefits to NSW, including regional NSW, by driving visitation, supporting local artists, and creating jobs,” the spokesperson said.
“The NSW government takes these matters seriously. We are currently undertaking an enquiry into the state of live music and festivals like Bluesfest because we know viability for music festivals in particular is an ongoing problem.”
Mark Southcott, of Thirroul in NSW, attended Bluesfest in 2025 for the first time with a large group of friends. He said he believes this year’s festival’s troubles were “partly brought on by Peter Noble’s shenanigans last year”.
Southcott said Noble’s claim that the 2025 festival would be the last “ensured a huge late rush of ‘last chance to see’ ticket sales … it was bloody packed.”
“There was zero chance to get near many acts.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
