{"id":114019,"date":"2026-03-13T10:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:09:52","slug":"bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLUESFEST Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today due to low ticket sales.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tickets were no longer available on the festival\u2019s website on Friday morning, with all options marked \u201callocation exhausted\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sources have indicated the long running festival will not proceed in 2026, although organisers are yet to formally confirm the decision.<\/p>\n

The festival was previously cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID 19 restrictions before returning in 2022, when about 100,000 tickets were sold.<\/p>\n

However many of those sales came late, with fans reluctant to commit amid fears the event could again be called off.<\/p>\n

Slower sales continued in 2023 and 2024 as ticket buying habits shifted and festivalgoers increasingly waited until closer to events to purchase.<\/p>\n

At the same time, cost of living pressures reduced discretionary spending, while staging costs including insurance, logistics and international artist travel surged.<\/p>\n

When festival director Peter Noble announced that 2025 would be the event\u2019s final year, citing rising production costs, soaring insurance premiums and increasing weather risks, ticket sales spiked.<\/p>\n

But when he later revealed Bluesfest would return in 2026, some festivalgoers said they felt misled.<\/p>\n

Noble told UK music industry magazine IQ<\/a> that the announcement had largely been intended to attract the attention of the NSW government, which he said had declined to invest in Bluesfest during a challenging economic period while backing \u201cimported\u201d events such as South by Southwest.<\/p>\n

Bluesfest also faced criticism<\/a> this year for including genres such as heavy metal band Parkway Drive.<\/p>\n

Bluesfest is not alone in facing these pressures. A number of major Australian festivals have been cancelled in recent years amid rising insurance costs, the expense of securing international artists, weather risks, shifting ticket-buying habits and broader cost-of-living pressures. Among them are Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo, both of which have cancelled recent editions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLUESFEST Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today due to low ticket sales. Tickets were no longer available on the festival\u2019s website on Friday morning, with all options marked \u201callocation exhausted\u201d. Sources have indicated the long running festival will not proceed in 2026, although organisers are yet to formally confirm […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":114020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[95,98],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-114019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bluesfest","tag-cancelled"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lismore Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png?_t=1773360593\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\"},\"headline\":\"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":304,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Bluesfest\",\"Cancelled\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/news\\\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Singer songwriter Xavier Rudd was among the artists announced on the lineup for Bluesfest Byron Bay, which is expected to be cancelled in 2026 amid weak ticket sales and rising costs.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lismore Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Lismore Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/32\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":770,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Lismore Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\",\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Angela Saurine\"},\"description\":\"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/lismoretimes\\\/author\\\/angelasaurine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times","description":"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times","og_description":"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/","og_site_name":"Lismore Times","article_published_time":"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png?_t=1773360593","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Angela Saurine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Angela Saurine","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/"},"author":{"name":"Angela Saurine","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be"},"headline":"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl","datePublished":"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/"},"wordCount":304,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png","keywords":["Bluesfest","Cancelled"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/","name":"Bluesfest cancellation rumours swirl - Lismore Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png","datePublished":"2026-03-12T23:53:48+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-13T00:09:52+00:00","description":"Bluesfest Byron Bay is expected to be cancelled in an announcement later today after ticket sales stalled, according to industry sources.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/bluesfest-cancellation-rumours-swirl\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/Untitled-1200-x-630-px-1.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Singer songwriter Xavier Rudd was among the artists announced on the lineup for Bluesfest Byron Bay, which is expected to be cancelled in 2026 amid weak ticket sales and rising costs."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/","name":"Lismore Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#organization","name":"Lismore Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2024\/08\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2024\/08\/logo.png","width":770,"height":96,"caption":"Lismore Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be","name":"Angela Saurine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Angela Saurine"},"description":"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/author\/angelasaurine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114019"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=114019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}