Full Tilt Festival in Sydney is the latest event to fall victim to the New South Wales government’s COVID restrictions.
Full Tilt joins Good Times festival in its cancellation within the past 24 hours.
Both events had been scheduled for mid-late February.
With the current Public Health Order restrictions extended for another month, festival organisers have made the “devastating” decision to cancel the event.
It’s the second time Full Tilt promoters have had to cancel one of their events; Adelaide was cancelled earlier this month due to South Australia’s restrictions, which required festivals be held in a seated format.
Promoter Chris O’Brien said they had “zero confidence” left in the government.
“They constantly backflip on restrictions with absolutely no notice or industry consultation,” he said.
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“For the most part we have been disgracefully and completely ignored by the states and the federal government.”
O’Brien re-iterated the plight of the music industry at large in the shadow of the pandemic.
“Two years in and we still have no ability to trade and generate income as an industry on a national level,” he said.
“We have no grants coming in, no job keeper, no national insurance scheme so when the states do pull the rug from under us with no notice we are left high and dry.”
An ‘Event Saver Fund’ was announced for NSW less than two weeks ago, which will allow festival organisers to recover some of their costs if their event cannot proceed due to Public Health Orders.
Eligible events must be scheduled to take place between Wednesday, December 15th 2021 and Saturday, December 31st 2022.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the scheme would “ensure that organisers aren’t left high and dry as we work through this latest phase of the pandemic.”
APRA/AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston said the fund was an important first step in ensuring NSW’s live music industry can survive the latest wave of COVID-19.
“However, we urge the NSW Government to also provide direct support to the artists, sole traders and small to medium businesses through a wage subsidy program, crisis support through Support Act and micro-business grants,” he said.
For festival organisers on the ground like O’Brien, though, the situation still looks bleak.
“Where we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel late last year has very quickly evaporated and we sit here now with more uncertainty than ever before,” he said.
“They say it’s the darkest before dawn… well dawn feels like an eternity away.”
Full Tilt will go ahead in Brisbane on the rescheduled date of Saturday, 23rd April at Eatons Hill Hotel.
Melbourne will also go ahead on Saturday, 26th March at Reunion Park.
Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Thy Art Is Murder, Frenzal Rhomb and more will perform.
Tone Deaf has been keeping rolling coverage of postponed and cancelled events as we hear of them – you can keep track here.
