Bluesfest looks to be the latest festival to be cancelled, following reports that the 2026 event will not go ahead.
Per The Daily Telegraph, sources have confirmed that the event – scheduled for April 2nd-5th – will not go ahead due to poor ticket sales.
PR for Bluesfest and Byron Bay Council did not immediately respond when contacted by Tone Deaf.
The festival had a killer lineup planned for 2026. Headliners included Parkway Drive, Erykah Badu, The Wailers, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sublime, Counting Crows, The Black Crowes, Buddy Guy, and more.
For the first time in 14 years, The Pogues were set to return to celebrate 40 years of their iconic album Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, toasting the life and legacy of the beloved Shane MacGowan.
Legendary Kiwi band Split Enz were also on the bill, as part of their massive upcoming Australian tour.
Bluesfest director Peter Noble announced last year that 2025 would be the final year, however, shortly after, he said that declaration was as much a call to action as a resignation to fate. “Do we have to say it’s the last Bluesfest to get people to focus on us?,” he asked at the time. Confirmation of Bluesfest 2026 then came on the same day that the Australian Greens unveiled a $20 million-a-year rescue plan to keep the country’s festival scene alive and kicking.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
The 2025 edition roared over the line. Across the Easter long weekend, Bluesfest welcomed 109,000 punters through its gates; its third-highest attendance ever, and the strongest showing since before Covid reshaped the live music landscape.
