The Sunshine Coast’s Caloundra Music Festival has been cancelled for 2024, citing rising operational costs and cost-of-living pressures.
The news comes as festivals such as Groovin The Moo and Splendour In The Grass call off their events this year, with Caloundra Music Festival joining the growing list of major music festivals affected by similar challenges.
Creative Australia listed rising operational costs as the most significant barrier to running a music festival in an April 2024 report. At a meeting in February of last year, council backed the festival, giving it the opportunity to run for three years, from 2023 to 2025.
The festival hopes for a return in 2025.
“The increasing expenditure required to deliver a safe and entertaining event while trying to keep tickets prices reasonable puts festivals like this in a precarious position,” Sunshine Coast Division 2 Councillor Terry Landsberg says.
“We needed to make a decision early in the planning process to avoid the potential of costly cancellation fees.
Image © Bruce Haggie
“This is a real loss for our local event industry, and local businesses that have supported or benefited from this event for so many years.
“Hopefully, conditions will improve, and it can get back on its feet.”
In its lifetime, Caloundra Music Festival has supported hundreds of local artists, who have shared the stage with Australian headliners like Powderfinger, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, John Butler Trio, Jimmy Barnes, Empire of the Sun, The Cat Empire, Jet, The Temper Trap, and more.
“Then there’s the international artists including Michael Franti, Arrested Development, George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic, Tower of Power, The New Power Generation and countless others,” Festival Director Richie Eyes says.
“The Sunshine Coast has such a vibrant music community and the loss of CMF, alongside other events in 2024, like Groovin the Moo, will be felt deeply.
“I encourage people to support other festivals, venues and artists by purchasing tickets often and early.”
Caloundra Music Festival has only missed one year (2020, due to COVID) since its 2007 inception.
