Huge blow for Australia’s live music scene as another music festival is ‘We’re devastated’
As a longtime music enthusiast and festival-goer, it’s quite disheartening to see so many iconic Australian music events struggling to survive. I have fond memories of attending various festivals over the years, making new friends, discovering fresh talent, and enjoying an eclectic mix of music genres.
It’s unfortunate that yet another music festival in Australia has been called off, this time being the You & Me festival from Western Australia, due to insufficient ticket purchases.
Initially planned for New Year’s Eve, the festival was intended to take place at Hay Park, Bunbury. Notable artists such as The Veronicas, Soulja Boy, and The Temper Trap were set to perform there.
On a particularly somber Friday, I, a dedicated lifestyle enthusiast and connoisseur, found myself grappling with a heavy announcement from the heart of our beloved festival community – a statement penned by none other than Bailey Chalmers, the visionary mastermind behind the event, who steers its course through his company Together Group. In an emotional post on Instagram, he expressed his profound sense of loss and disappointment as we all faced the reality of a much-anticipated event being postponed or, in some cases, cancelled.
The post stated, ‘Regrettably, I must inform you that You & Me 2024 has been called off. Sadly, I couldn’t prepare the event up to the standards you expect.’
Despite my best efforts to find a solution, I regret to inform you that it proved impossible for the festival to take place.
Bailey concluded the message with a call to action for the Australian festival-going public.
He penned down, ‘All I request is this: Continue backing Australian festivals and live music events. If we don’t, they could vanish unexpectedly.’
In a chat with ABC, Bailey shared that poor ticket sales and expensive insurance premiums played crucial roles in the decision to call off the festival.
He mentioned that one of the festival’s headliners, whose name he did not disclose, was unable to enter the country.
If you can’t locate someone with equal skill, it might be difficult to move forward with a production that significantly deviates from the initially promised one, as Bailey pointed out.
Additionally, he emphasized the importance of increased government assistance for festivals, since escalating expenses are increasingly straining an already hard-pressed sector.
Currently, the unpredictable nature of music festivals, with many getting cancelled or postponed, has led to more artists asking for larger advance payments.
‘Some artists are asking for 100 per cent of [their] fee up front.’
The cancellation is the latest in a long line of scuttled Australian music festivals in 2024.
2021, a year I’ve been eagerly anticipating for its music festivals, has unfortunately brought the disappointing news of cancellations for events like Groovin’ The Moo, Splendour In The Grass, and Bluesfest – leaving me with a heavy heart.
As a connoisseur of vibrant events, let me share some sad news: Bluesfest, an iconic festival that has graced our Australian scene for over three decades, has decided to call it quits after the 2025 event. This marks the end of an era.
Similar to numerous other Australian festivals, Bluesfest has encountered a variety of difficulties such as escalating expenses, shifts in ticket purchasing patterns, and disturbances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and severe weather events.
In 2020, the festival was closed because of statewide restrictions on large gatherings, and sadly, the next year, it had to be called off only a few days before its start, when a single COVID-19 case was identified.
2022 marked a successful comeback for Bluesfest, as its five-day event drew approximately 100,000 attendees in total.
Conversely, the occurrences in 2023 and 2024 failed to sell out completely, leaving festival director Peter Noble facing financial strain.
Due to rising costs and a decrease in ticket sales, the upcoming festival will only last for four days instead of its usual five.
After hearing about the conclusion of Bluesfest, Tamara Smith, the representative for Ballina (which encompasses the Byron Shire where the event happens) initiated a petition requesting the State Government to come up with a financial aid plan in order to preserve this long-standing festival.
As your trusted lifestyle guide, I’m urging everyone to join me in signing a petition that appeals to our State Government. This petition aims to motivate them to create and enact a comprehensive support package for our beloved festival. This package should include financial aid, policy guidance, and the establishment of long-term support structures to ensure its continued success and growth. Let’s come together and make our voices heard!
After the cancellation of this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival, music promoter Danny Grant posted a TikTok video stating that the festival’s lineup was perceived as overly ‘varied’ or ‘eclectic’.
The festival organizer, speaking in a video, stated that they’ve been through a difficult three-year period and have been attempting to expand into various areas too broadly.
They shifted musical genres, moving from Kylie Minogue to Future. It’s likely they were targeting audiences who preferred different musical styles.
He added: ‘I don’t think there was much of a crossover. It did the opposite of what they were hoping for.’
Australian hip-hop artist Illy added his perspective, stating that the problem lies more in cultural differences rather than just the cost of living, suggesting that audiences typically won’t spend money on performers they don’t care for or find uninteresting.
‘Australian music CULTURE is broken,’ he wrote on X.
Despite the closure of events like Yes Festivals, Groovin, and Splendour (and many smaller ones), concerts by Pink, Taylor Swift, Fred, among others, have thrived. Pink performed 20 stadium shows, Taylor Swift sold over 600,000 tickets, and Fred attracted more than 100,000 in a single day. It’s clear that the live music scene is not just surviving but growing, though it may be more about cultural impact rather than cost of living.
Additionally, Illy asserted that the quality of Australian music has seemingly deteriorated due to a decline in audience willingness to invest money in attending concerts featuring artists they are not keen on.
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2024-11-16 09:07