It is still unclear if Bluesfest 2026 ticketholders will get refunds a week after the festival was cancelled.
Last Friday, organisers of the Byron Bay event attributed the cancellation to “rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, combined with softer ticket demand and international uncertainties” and confirmed that a liquidator, Worrells, had been appointed.
However, as reported by the Herald Sun, Bluesfest ticketholders are now calling for an investigation following news that the festival owes $5.7 million to creditors and that Worrells advised in an email that it is “unlikely” refunds will be offered.
Adding to this, the Herald Sun reported that Bluesfest’s ticketing partner, Moshtix, had already released ticket proceeds to Bluesfest to pay for operational costs.
However, Moshtix claimed that Bluesfest used its own merchant facility for payments.
“We are deeply saddened by the cancellation of Bluesfest Byron Bay 2026 and understand the disappointment from fans who were excited to attend this year,” a spokesperson told Rolling Stone AU/NZ this week.
“For this event, Bluesfest used its own merchant facility for payments, so payments were made directly to Bluesfest.
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“Where this occurs, under our terms and conditions of sale, it is the obligation of the Event Organiser to provide refunds to ticket purchasers and not Moshtix, which was made clear to fans when purchasing tickets.”
Under Live Performance Australia’s code of practice, which Bluesfest and Moshtix are both signatories to, “ticket proceeds must be held in trust for consumers until the event has been held”.
An LPA spokesperson told Tone Deaf in a statement that the Ticketing Code of Practise operates as a “best practice guide for the Australian live performance industry” and is “a voluntary code designed to promote industry best practice”.
When contacted for clarification, PR for Bluesfest referred Tone Deaf to Worrells who are yet to respond for comment.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn declined to comment when contacted by Tone Deaf about the possibility of a class action against Bluesfest.
