Another iconic Australian festival closes its doors as the live music scene continues to dwindle. Join David Kowalski as he covers the latest happenings in the music industry. Bluesfest hangs up its boots IN THE NEWS this week is something that is both shocking and unsurprising all at once.
The iconic Bluesfest 5-day music festival, held every year in Byron Bay, NSW, is running its final event in 2025. I have reported here previously about the major festivals that seem to be shutting up shop in droves. However, the demise of this one – one of the biggest Australia has to offer – is quite devastating for both the economy and the culture of Australia.
AAP even went as far as to suggest this is an “extinction level event” . The same factors that shuttered other festivals like Groovin’ The Moo and Splendour In The Grass earlier this year are also at play here — travel and setup costs being too high, extreme weather events making for hazardous conditions and exorbitant insurance premiums among them. Therefore, it would seem unsurprising and almost predictable that this one would shut up shop.
In the past, Bluesfest has hosted some of the greatest names in music and welcomed up to 100,000 punters every year to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the music. Organiser of the festival Peter Noble , who has run the festival every year since 1990, has said: "After having come out of COVID, the live-music industry is on its knees.” If that is indeed the case, why then do festiva.