The growing list of canceled Australian music festivals just got longer with the sad news that another one has been cancelled.
This time it’s the long-standing Caloundra Music Festival (CMF), which usually takes place each October on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, that has been axed.
The event previously attracted dozens of top Australian acts such as Missy Higgins, Empire Of The Sun, The Veronicas, Spiderbait, Powderfinger, Killing Heidi and Angus and Julia Stone.
Sunshine Coast Council announced in its 2024-2025 budget that the 17-year-old festival would no longer be funded by the council.
This was the death knell for the event, which was already struggling with higher costs, lower ticket sales and general uncertainty in the music business.
CMF now joins Splendor in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Coastal Jam, Vintage Vibes, Dark Mofo and Valleyways, who have all been left out this year due to cost of living pressures.
In April, organizers of the Caloundra festival said they would take a break from this year’s usual October run, but the council’s withdrawal means the event is gone for good.
The annual Caloundra Music Festival on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has been permanently suspended. Local artist Ayla is pictured on stage at last year’s festival
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the decision to no longer fund the festival was a very difficult decision and made with a heavy heart.
“Rising costs, declining ticket sales and uncertainty in the music festival industry were deemed too great a risk in the current climate,” Cr. Natoli.
“We recognize that music events are important to our community and the Council will continue to provide smaller events and programs.”
Festival organizers confirmed the sad news online on Tuesday.
“We know this will be a great disappointment to so many people and can only thank you for your support throughout our CMF journey,” the message said.
‘We encourage you all to support other venues and festivals where possible by purchasing tickets early so event organizers have the confidence to continue hosting music events.
“The experiences and memories we have shared over the past seventeen years will live on in our hearts forever.”
Music lovers are pictured at the Caloundra Music Festival, which no longer exists
The festival organizers also thanked the volunteers who have been involved over the years, including the ‘600 amazing people who supported CMF last year, to over 1,000 people collectively who have supported us since our very first event in 2007’.
Fans of the festival were distraught when they heard that the music for CMF had ended.
“I’m still in total devastation when I hear we’re losing our festival,” wrote one.
“It’s the only thing my best friend and I talk about all year. It gets us through twelve months of monotony and struggle.
“When it gets close, we get excited and shop and plan and pretend we’re going to eat better for a month.”
In February, Groovin the Moo organizers announced that the 2024 festival had been canceled, just two months before it was due to start.
Supplied editorial Caloundra Music Festival, Queensland. Image: instagram.
Dozens of well-known acts have previously performed at the event, including Australian rockers Spiderbait (performance pictured)
Splendor in the Grass was due to take place from July 19 to 21 in the North Byron Parklands, headlined by Kylie Minogue.
But in March, the 2024 event was canceled just weeks after the line-up was announced, with organizers citing “unexpected events” as the reason behind the decision.
The NYE In The Park festival also recently went bankrupt after being unable to pay its debts, with the company behind the event going bankrupt.
A statement from the Sunshine Coast Council sheds some light on what is plaguing Australia’s live music scene. Music fans are increasingly choosing to support major artist tours and genre-specific festival lineups, rather than more generic programs.
This was confirmed by the major recent tours of Australia by artists such as Taylor Swift, Pink and Fred Again.
CMF was named the 2023 People’s Choice Award for Festival of the Year by the Queensland Music Awards.