For the second year in a row, the beloved Australia festival Splendour in the Grass is not going ahead.
This can sadly be seen as unsurprising news, as over 10 festivals were cancelled across Australia last year.
On Thursday (January 23rd), Splendour in the Grass organisers, Secret Sounds, expressed via social media that they needed “a little more time to recharge” so that they can “come back even bigger and better when the time is right.”
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The co-CEOs Jessica Ducrou (now former) and Paul Piticco said they were “heartbroken” about the cancellation. “This festival has always been a huge community effort, and we’d like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith,” they wrote in a statement. “We hope to be back in the future.”
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With the popular Byron Bay festival joining the list of cancelled festivals, there are growing concerns the onslaught of festival cancellations could continue.
Groovin the Moo, Harvest Rock, Valleyways, Spilt Milk, Return to Rio, Vintage Vibes, Promise Village, Coastal Jam, Big Red Bash, Tent Pole Festival and Caloundra Music Festival did not return in 2024.
Bluesfest’s future is up in the air, NYE in the Park went into liquidation, and Pitch Music and Arts Festival could not prevail due to extreme fire hazards.
“It is devastating to see that Splendour in the Grass, one of Australia’s most loved festivals, will be taking a year off,” the Australian Festival Association (AFA) told Tone Deaf.
“The cost of producing Australia’s largest festival, with a capacity of 50,000, comes with significant risks. We respect and understand their decision to pause, allowing them to return stronger when the time is right.”
The AFA instead chose to keep optimistic: “Splendour is a cornerstone of the Australian festival landscape, and we look forward to its future, knowing how much they have contributed to our music and cultural community.”
So what is bringing down the biggest Aussie festivals?
A report last year, Soundcheck: Insights into Australia’s music festival sector, discovered that only 56% of music festivals were not making a profit in 2022-2023. Extreme operational costs and less of the target young audience demographic were to blame.
Laneway is up next on the calendar – attendees can count themselves lucky this year.
