Bluesfest demise ‘like a loved one dying’ as Byron Bay counts the cost of loss

by Admin
August 14, 2024

In short:

Musicians, industry experts and local businesses are dismayed by the decision to end Byron’s Bluesfest next year.

There are calls for the government to provide a financial lifeline to the multi-day music festival.

What’s next?

The final edition of Bluesfest will be held at Byron Bay from April 17-20, 2025.

Australian musician Ash Grunwald performed at Bluesfest 10 times over 20 years and even moved to live nearby.

He said news that the music festival was coming to an end next year “didn’t seem real”.

“It’s such a massive shock, it’s like a loved one dying or something,” he said.

“It’s been absolutely integral to me as a blues-influenced player … It was the ultimate festival.”

Ash Grunwald was a regular performer at Byron Bay’s Bluesfest.(ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter)

After 35 years, Bluesfest has announced next year’s festival will be the last.

Held near the tourist mecca of Byron Bay each Easter long weekend, the event typically drew crowds in the tens of thousands over multiple days.

“I reckon it helped spark something,” Mr Grunwald said.

“Because that generation that I was in, including Xavier Rudd, John Butler, The Waifs, Cat Empire, all those bands, that was the sound of our generation.

“It was like roots music went mainstream for a little while there almost, and that was a lot to do with Bluesfest really leading the way.”

Kate Miller-Heidke says “nothing comes close” to the feeling of a live music event.(Supplied: Jo Duck)

Singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke said some of her “most peak experiences on stage” had been at Bluesfest.

“There is something about live music, live arts that is just irreplaceable,” she said.

Both artists mourned lost opportunities for future generations of musicians.

“Australian artists who are up and coming, who are honing their craft, really rely on these festivals,” Ms Miller-Heidke said.

“It’s a place to really develop a fan base and get a leg up.”

Australian artist Baker Boy played to a packed tent at Bluesfest 2019.(Supplied: Dave Kan)

Millions lost

The Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce said the news was a “devastating blow” to local businesses.

A study, commissioned by festival organisers in the wake of the event’s cancellation due to COVID-19 in 2021, estimated the economic loss for the Northern Rivers region at close to $98 million.

The Byron Shire alone was estimated to have lost more than $50 million.

Commerce Chamber president Matt Williamson said many people who attended the festival usually visited other parts of the region.

“[They are] going from village to village, hanging out at the beach, going to restaurants, doing all the things you do when you’re a visitor to our wonderful area,” he said.

“They simply don’t have that anchor event now to draw them into our local economy.”

Splendour in the Grass, usually held a few kilometres up the road, cancelled this year’s festival two weeks after announcing the line-up.

Matt Hill, a senior lecturer in contemporary music at the nearby Southern Cross University, said Bluesfest, Splendour and smaller events such as the Mullum Music Festival “really put this area on the map” as a music hub.

He said many in the industry would feel the loss, including sound engineers, technicians and road crew members.

“I’m optimistic that new things will form, new shoots will grow,” he said.

“I think it might be smaller, more boutique offerings that are going to start to flourish.

“But perhaps we’ve seen the last of the mega-festival kind of thing, at least in our region, for a while.”

Calls to save festival

Local Greens MP Tamara Smith said Bluesfest had been encouraged to apply for government funding through a Destination NSW grant, but ultimately missed out.