Juicy Fest fans in New Zealand have been left disappointed as the popular R&B festival’s 2025 shows in Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch have been axed.
Organisers have blamed licensing roadblocks and what they describe as “targeted efforts” to block the event.
The festival, headlined by R&B royalty like Ludacris, Akon, and Jay Sean, was set to bring nostalgic vibes and beats to Kiwi summer hotspots. However, an email sent to ticketholders on December 20th confirmed the cancellations, with refunds in the works and an option to transfer tickets to the Australian leg of the tour, which is still going ahead.
“After much consideration, we’ve had to make the difficult call to cancel Juicy Fest in New Zealand and we will be working through the refund process. This situation is solely isolated to Juicy Fest New Zealand and does not impact Juicy Fest Australia, which will go ahead as planned. If any of our New Zealand ticket holders want to transfer their tickets to an Australia show please let us know and we will make this happen,” the statement read.
“Our bid to be able to sell alcohol at Juicy Fest Auckland has recently been declined. Among the issues highlighted in the opposition included concerns about previous antisocial behaviours from some Juicy Fest attendees in Auckland and Wellington. We acknowledge there were issues in 2024 but we have worked hard to mitigate these factors for 2025. ”
“As of Thursday night, Juicy Fest New Zealand only held a special licence for Tauranga, making it hard to progress further with other shows,” the statement said, adding that “the New Zealand leg of the Juicy Fest tour has also faced tough opposition in New Zealand, which hasn’t helped the event’s progress.”
The Timeless Group spokesperson said the team had previously secured a new, licensed venue for Juicy Fest Auckland to ensure they could still deliver Juicy Fest as expected. “This week, we have been told by the new venue that they have faced pressure from police to withdraw their premises from being available to Juicy Fest Auckland,” the spokesperson claimed.
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“The uncertainty created through this process limited our progress with these events. Without these special licences confirmed, cancelling Juicy Fest New Zealand was the safest option from a health and safety perspective. We acknowledge moving forward with an alcohol-free event could have led to health and safety concerns and the safety of our patrons is of course, paramount.”
In a separate, more revealing email to suppliers viewed by the NZ Herald, event promoters Timeless Group claimed they faced “tough opposition from authorities and police in running our event in New Zealand”, and as of Thursday night, the festival “only held a special licence for Tauranga, making it hard to progress further with other shows.”
“In our opinion, this has felt intentional to put a stop to Juicy Fest New Zealand. We fought this opposition and appeared at a hearing with the DLC [District Licensing Committee],” they said. “Our efforts to oppose the decision to not grant our special licence were unsuccessful and although we have appealed this, this appeal cannot be heard until after the Juicy Fest Tour is scheduled to end”.
Adding to the controversy, the festival’s troubled past hasn’t helped its case.
Earlier this year, Juicy Fest events in Auckland and Wellington were marred by incidents of violence and anti-social behaviour. Police officers were assaulted, and multiple arrests were made, leading to scrutiny from authorities.
Despite the challenges, the Timeless Group insists the cancellations feel “intentional,” claiming pressure from police even led one Auckland venue to withdraw its support. The ripple effect of these issues has also hit the Timeless Summer Tour, another event by the same organisers, leaving fans in doubt that the event will go ahead.
Featuring Boy George, Bonnie Tyler, and Starship, the tour has been postponed indfinitely as it relied on the same infrastructure as Juicy Fest. While Timeless Group is working to reschedule dates, fans are left waiting for clarity.
“As we were using the same infrastructure as Juicy Fest New Zealand for some of the Timeless Summer Tour shows, we have been forced to postpone the inaugural Timeless Summer Tour, which was scheduled for January 2025,” the email to suppliers said of Timeless Summer, as per Herald.
It comes amid a tough season for New Zealand’s live music scene. Auckland’s Laneway Festival recently announced it would no longer host under-18s after its licence application was rejected, citing similar frustrations with authorities.
As Juicy Fest works through refunds, fans are left questioning the future of large-scale festivals in New Zealand. Whether the events will bounce back stronger—or fade out entirely—remains to be seen.
Read the official statement from Juicy Fest here.
