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Updated March 13, 2026 — 2:12pm,first published 12:52pm
Byron Bay music festival Bluesfest has entered liquidation and organisers have axed the event weeks ahead of its scheduled run due to poor ticket sales.
Headliners for the five-day event from April 2 to April 5 were to include Split Enz, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sublime, 19-Twenty, The Wailers and Erykah Badu.
Organisers confirmed the event’s cancellation in a statement on the festival’s website on Friday afternoon.
“After 36 years as Australia’s most awarded festival, Bluesfest has made the difficult decision not to proceed with the 2026 event. We are proud of what we have achieved – the music, our artists, the busking competition, our staff, our community, and everyone who has been part of the Bluesfest journey,” they said.
“Rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, together with a more challenging environment for major live events, mean it is not possible to deliver the festival to the standard audiences, artists and partners expect.
“A liquidator has been appointed to manage all financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations. Ticket holders, including parking pass customers and campers, will be contacted directly by the appointed liquidator with further information regarding the process for submitting claims and any potential refund arrangements.”
Since its inception in 1990, Bluesfest has hosted artists including Bob Dylan, Jimmy Barnes, Santana, Midnight Oil, and Kendrick Lamar. Its numbers swelled near capacity to about 100,000 in 2025 – compared with about 70,000 in 2024 – following Bluesfest’s announcement that it would be its last show.
In August 2024, veteran promoter Peter Noble said he was pulling the pin on Bluesfest 2025 due to rising costs, the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic, slow ticket sales and a perceived lack of government support.
Later in December 2024, as ticket sales gathered momentum, Noble appeared to backflip, telling industry website IQ he “would always find a way” to put on the event.
The NSW government has supported Bluesfest since 2009. It said how much it had provided for the event during that time was commercial in confidence.
A spokesperson for the state government said the organisers’ decision to cancel the 2026 event was “deeply disappointing”.
“Events like Bluesfest bring substantial economic and cultural benefits to NSW, including regional NSW, by driving visitation, supporting local artists, and creating jobs,” the spokesperson said.
“The NSW government takes these matters seriously. We are currently undertaking an enquiry into the State of Live Music and festivals like Bluesfest because we know viability for music festivals in particular is an ongoing problem.”
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