After 35 years, Byron Bay's Bluesfest will end after its 2025 event due to an "extinction event" in the live music industry driven by soaring operational costs, high insurance, and cost-of-living pressures. Director Peter Noble cited unsustainable financial challenges, including the high cost of booking international artists and reduced ticket sales, making the 2025 event the final edition.
After 35 years, Bluesfest Byron Bay is set to hold its final festival on April 17, 2025. Soaring costs associated with live music festivals have made running these events increasingly difficult.
There will be no more Bluesfest after 2025. Bluesfest has always been more than just a festival; it's been a gathering of souls, a place where lifelong memories are made, and where music transcends boundaries.
If Bluesfest is a regular part of your Easter plans, then the Byron Bay event's team has wrapped up 2025's festivities with some excellent news for you in 2026: the long-weekend fest will still be on the calendar next year. In fact, dates are locked in and early-bird tickets are on sale.
The End of an Era: Bluesfest To End After 35 Years
Why did G-Eazy cancel Bluesfest?
G-Eazy dropped from Bluesfest lineup over 'scheduling conflict' The artist best known for the 2015 chart-topper Me, Myself and I had been booked to play the RBC Main stage on July 17.
SunFest, a long-running music festival in West Palm Beach, Florida, has been canceled for 2025 after 40 years. The festival faced declining attendance and financial losses due to increased competition, rising artist fees, and changing audience preferences.
It was founded by Dan Doeppel and Kevin Oxford in 1990 and is now run by Peter Noble who joined Oxford for the 1994 event. It has been held at several locations in and around Byron Bay and is currently held at Tyagarah, 11 kilometres drive north of Byron Bay town.
Peter Noble is a multi-award-winning audiobook narrator. Peter has recorded hundreds of audiobooks and audio dramas - many of them bestsellers - for an ever-growing client list. Peter was born in South Africa, and grew up travelling, picking up a range of authentic dialects and languages along the way.
Over the course of the 2025 Easter long weekend, more than 112,000 people walked through the gates of what was meant to be the final Byron Bay Bluesfest. Tickets all but sold out, camping so popular it needed a few footy fields worth of overflow, while shuttle buses and onsite parking were all sold out too.
Festival headliners for 2026 are starting to be announced, with major names like Charli XCX, Dave, Raye, Fontaines D.C., Florence + The Machine, Kasabian, Richard Ashcroft, The Black Keys, Lewis Capaldi, The Cure, Calvin Harris, Mumford & Sons, Twenty One Pilots, Wet Leg, and Foo Fighters confirmed for various UK and European festivals, including Reading & Leeds, Isle of Wight, Download, Victorious, and BST Hyde Park, with many more acts still to come for summer 2026 events.
Rising production costs, unpredictable ticket sales, and an increasingly difficult landscape during 2023 and 2024 have made it impossible for us to move forward with next year's event.
A history of booking some of the most important acts in the world, including Maroon 5, Green Day, Tyler Childers, Nickelback, Orville Peck, Shania Twain, Mumford & Sons, Pitbull, Charlotte Cardin, The Smile, Rage Against The Machine, Luke Combs, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sam Hunt, BackStreet Boys, Eric ...
Returning to the Byron Events Farm over the Easter long weekend, 2–5 April 2026, the festival's 37th edition is already shaping up as one of its most significant yet. Leading the announcement is the long-awaited reunion of Split Enz, who will perform their first show in more than 20 years.
Over four perfect Byron blue sky days, Bluesfest 2025 was filled with incredible live music, big crowds and good vibes. An eclectic mix of artists this year meant there was truly a gig happening for all tastes each day on the massive tent stages and a surprise guest or two.
We're now 85% sold out for Bluesfest 2025! This year is shaping up to be one of our most popular yet, with tickets selling fast. Many items have already sold out, including on-site camping, Single Day Saturday tickets, Under 10 tickets (apart from Thursday), and multi-day 10-14 year old passes.
