Bluesfest bows out: ‘The industry needs help’

Byron Bay Bluesfest organiser Peter Noble says he wants the long-running Australian institution to “go out on a high” after revealing the festival’s next edition will be its last.

Noble has confirmed the event’s “final curtain call” will take place from 17-20 April 2025, with the first artist announcement to be made next week.

Launched in 1990, the festival has attracted a who’s who of music legends such as BB King, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Earth, Wind & Fire, Paul Simon, Robert Plant, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige and Tom Jones.

“Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community, and the resilient spirit of our fans. But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter,” Noble said via the festival’s social media channels.

Elaborating on the decision, Noble expressed his pride that Bluesfest had won more awards than any other festival in Australian history.

“We work at a certain level, and we want to continue to work at that level,” he told ABC. “I will be presenting a festival at that level in 2025. However, to continue doing it beyond then, a number of things would have had to have happened, and they just didn’t fall into place.”

The news comes as perhaps the most severe blow yet for Australia’s beleaguered festival sector, which has been left in disarray following a flurry of cancellations. Adelaide’s Harvest Rock became the latest Australian festival to pull the plug on its 2024 edition last week, following in the footsteps of other high-profile casualties such as Splendour in the Grass, Groovin The Moo, Coastal Jam, Summerground, Vintage Vibes, Tent Pole: A Musical Jamboree and ValleyWays.

“The industry really needs help right now. I just can’t see the future… for the whole live music industry without real intercession from the powers that be”

In response, Australia’s House of Representatives has launched an inquiry into the struggling scene, and Noble stressed the need for government intervention.

“The industry really needs help right now, and I just can’t see the future – for not only me, but the whole live music industry – without real intercession from the powers that be,” he sad. “They need to get involved. They need to actually say there’s a vision for the future of our industry. And whilst I can’t see that, then I would rather go out on a high and buy a one-way ticket to Bali.”

Noble finished by sharing some of his standout moments from 35 years of Bluesfest, namechecking performances by Tom Jones, BB King, James Brown, Buddy Guy and Kendrick Lamar.

“We’ve always been cutting edge, and I want it to remain that way. I’m very proud of my contribution and my team’s contribution – they are so incredible – but we want to continue doing at a certain level right now,” he added. “We don’t think we can be on next year without got some real things happening. And so it’s better we go out on the high rather than perhaps find ourselves not at that level in a few years’ time.”

The promoter previously discussed his concerns for the domestic festival business during the inaugural Variety Live Business Breakfast in Sydney earlier this year, warning it was facing an “extinction event”.

“We’ve really got to be as one as an industry,” he said. “We need to speak to government. We need to say this is the time you support our industry because we are facing an extinction event and that event can be looked at during the times of Covid, government delivered a lot of funding. Come on government, give us a hand up, we don’t want a handout. We can get through this because our industry is worth it.”

Tickets are on sale now for Bluesfest 2025, with early bird four-day passes priced A$472.90 (€284.30).

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