Splendour In The Grass 2024 Canceled Less Than A Week After Tickets Went On Sale
Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Recently, things have not gone splendidly for Australia’s massive Splendour In The Grass festival. In 2022, the fest returned from a three-year pandemic break, and the show turned out to be an absolute disaster. Heavy rains flooded the festival site, and the first day had to be cancelled. Traffic was a total boondoggle, to the point where organizers paid $100,000 to area schools to make up for what they’d caused. This year, plans were all set for Splendour In The Grass. Last week, tickets went on sale. But after less than a week of sales, organizers have cancelled this year’s festival.
In a statement posted on social media last night, the organizers of Splendour In The Grass wrote, “We know there were many fans excited for this year’s line-up and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events, we’ll be taking the year off… We’re heartbroken to be missing a year especially after more than two decades in operation. This festival has always been a huge community effort, and we’d like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith. We hope to be back in the future.”
This year’s Splendour In The Grass lineup was unveiled 3/12, and tickets went on sale 3/21. The chaotic trio of Kylie Minogue, Future, and Arcade Fire was set to headline, and the supporting bill included big-name acts like Turnstile, Yeat, and Girl In Red, among many others. ABC reported that last year’s Splendour In The Grass ticket sales were down 30% from the catastrophic 2022 offering. Co-producer Jessica Ducrou said that the sales were “a reflection of the current economy” but allowed that “no doubt last year’s experiences have impacted on sales as well.”
ABC also reports that the artists on this year’s Splendour In The Grass bill — many of whom are Australian and had long dreamed of playing at the fest — learned of the cancellation just minutes before the news went public. This is the second major Australian festival to cancel this year’s edition; the Groovin The Moo tour also shut down its 2024 plans, citing low ticket sales.
In Australia and elsewhere, giant multi-genre music festival seem to be in trouble these days. That might be good news to those of us who prefer smaller and more targeted boutique festivals, but it’s not great for the artists who depend on those massive festival paydays.
