Popular regional boutique music festival Vanfest has been rescheduled for a second time.
After previously battling COVID-19 challenges, the festival had aimed to expand and move to a more accessible location in December. Vanfest had taken place in Forbes for the past eight years, and the event decided to head to the iconic Mount Panorama in Bathurst for its 2022 edition.
Vanfest then met obstacles once more at the end of last year, and was forced to reschedule to the weekend of March 3rd-4th due to adverse weather conditions.
However, just a few weeks out from the rescheduled dates, it’s been confirmed to Tone Deaf that Vanfest won’t be going ahead in March as planned.
Organisers were unable to get everything together for the rescheduled dates and Vanfest will now prepare to return to its original December slot this year. A direct email was sent out to teach ticket holder to inform them of this unfortunate decision.
“VANFEST has been POSTPONED to December 2023. The confirmed dates will be announced in the coming weeks,” it states on the Moshtix ticket link.
Alongside a brand-new location, Vanfest had collected a strong lineup of acts to christen the new spot. Hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods, Kiwi favourites Six60, ‘Dance Monkey’ star Tones and I, and acclaimed singer songwriter Tash Sultana were just some of the big names scheduled to perform at the festival.
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Festival favourites like Hockey Dad, Mashd N Kutcher, and Masked Wolf were also due to be on hand to keep the crowd entertained.
At the time of writing, nothing official has been announced on social media, with the last post from the official Vanfest Instagram account coming back in November.
Promoter Matt Clifton acknowledged that it had “been a long road” to Vanfest happening again. “There are enormous amounts of challenges facing the industry, however, we remain dedicated to supporting the live music sector and delivering memorable experiences to our fans,” Promoter Matt Clifton had said about the festival last year. Here’s hoping better luck is found this December.
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