Music festivals have had a bad few years, but promoters say things are on the up. This is why

Several other festivals will not be going ahead this year, including Knotfest (although organisers hope to return in 2027) and Gaytimes (also a possibility for next year).

Despite it all, the sector is feeling “cautiously optimistic”, says Australian Festival Association CEO Olly Arkins.

“Coming into 2026, there’s a renewed confidence in live events across the board, particularly in festivals.”

Arkins warns higher costs are becoming “baked in”. “Margins are really tight and the risk is so much higher,” they said.

Festivals can no longer afford even one bad year. Many of these costs are lingering effects of the pandemic, Arkins says, particularly transport. But medical and police costs increased in NSW from 2019 due to new safety laws, and inflation has meant prices remain high.

Insurance costs have also increased dramatically over the past half-decade. A 2025 Creative Australia report found almost a third of festival operators believed rising insurance premiums had a “major to severe” impact on their operations.

Cancellation coverage is now so expensive that many festivals find it “commercially unviable”.

Also, a 2025 Music Australia report found that Australians are forgoing local acts and festivals for expensive, “once-in-a-lifetime” stadium concerts featuring international musicians like Oasis.

Festival-goers are also waiting until closer to the event to purchase tickets, creating uncertainty for promoters. Actually going to these events is also more expensive for music lovers. An analysis by streetwear brand Culture Kings found the average price of an Australian music festival ticket has increased by 180 per cent since 2004. The same study claimed the average Australian festival ticket cost about $120 in 2004, and is estimating the average ticket price this year to be $351.

Nevertheless, it’s not all bad news.

The AFA’s most recent industry report indicated Australian music festivals raked in $331.3 million in revenue from over two million attendances in 2024, the second-highest result ever recorded.

Music Australia’s 2025 Listening In report revealed that despite a lower sense of financial security, young people were actually spending more on entertainment in 2024 than in 2019.

Two major festivals will return in 2026: the Birdsville Big Red Bash, in July after taking last year off, and Rolling Loud Australia in March. The last time Rolling Loud ran was 2019.

Spilt Milk, after its 2025 revival, announced a 2026 run. The festival was cancelled twice in the first years of the pandemic, and took a financial break in 2024.

Bluesfest will also return for an “encore” this year, despite director Peter Noble’s declaration last year that 2025 would be its final appearance.

Arkins says the sector is excited about the number of new festivals emerging in 2026. “Up-and-coming promoters are taking the risk and seeing that there’s an opportunity out there.”

In a few weeks, Sydney’s Bondi Beach will play host to the Australian debut of UK festival Mighty Hoopla with Kesha headlining on February 21, and also next month, the first An Emo Extravaganza event rolls out in Melbourne and Sydney.

In March, the Victorian capital will play host to Australia’s first K-pop festival when Hello, Melbourne launches at Flemington Racecourse on March 14.

So, with the demise of festivals such as Splendour and Groovin’ The Moo, are niche festivals the way forward, rather than the huge multi-genre events of the past that try to cater for all tastes?

Arkins acknowledges the death of these festivals, but points to the health of the Laneway, Beyond the Valley and Lost Paradise. “They’re still kind of up there with the Big Day Outs,” they said.

Indeed, a 2025 report by online ticket reseller Tixel found the proportion of live music attendees who preferred a single genre line-up had halved since 2024 to only 36 per cent.

Still, Arkins says audiences are embracing smaller, genre-based festivals. “I think there has been a shift in the wants of not only younger audiences, but post-COVID audiences [as well],” they said.

Country and electronic music festivals, along with festivals offering an experience beyond the music, are doing particularly well, Arkins said.

Long-running giants such as the Tamworth Country Music Festival have been joined by smaller events like Newcastle’s Howlin’ Country. As this masthead reported last year, attendance at live country music events has increased by 54 per cent since 2023, and country fans spend considerably more than other music-lovers.

Electronic dance music (EDM) fans have dedicated festivals such as No One But Us, Field Day, Radar, Dangerous Goods, and Revolve Festival, with EDM now the third-most attended genre behind pop and rock, albeit a drop from second place in 2023.

And in terms of event-based music festivals, think outback extravaganza The Big Red Bash, or Meredith Music Festival, which features a cinema and nude race at a site about 90 kilometres west of Melbourne.

Sydneysider Claudia Bean, 22, attended three festivals in 2025: Laneway, Yours & Owls, and Lost Paradise, and plans to attend more this year , beginning with the upcoming Laneway Festival in Sydney.

“I really liked the line-up,” she said, “in particular … the international kind of acts.

“I’ll definitely do one over New Year’s this year as well … probably Lost Paradise again, or maybe Beyond the Valley.”

Bean said cost was the biggest obstacle. “I feel like they’re just getting more and more expensive.”

However, she is worried by reports of the sector struggling.

“Festivals getting cancelled [is] a bad thing because less people are experiencing it,” she said. “Also, I feel like it sucks for smaller bands who want to play.”

Melbourne woman Erin Girvan has been going to gigs and festivals since 1999 and went along to Beyond the Valley over New Year’s Eve.

The 40-year-old single mum says despite cost-of-living pressures, she tries to prioritise live music. “It’s my lifeblood,” she said. “Apart from my son, it’s a really big focus for me.”

“I do Meredith and Golden Plains every single year,” Girvan said. “I always have a good time … I always feel like my cup has been filled after I’ve been to Meredith.”

“It’s a beautiful community … it’s a beautiful slice of heaven in a chaotic and sometimes disillusioning world,” she said.

Girvan said she was worried about the future of the festival industry – recent high-profile failures are scary, she said. “It’s such an important part of my life.”

“But I think it will survive,” Girvan said, “I think it may have to evolve.”

Victorian man Allan Gilmour, from Barwon Heads, said he tries to get to as many music festivals as he can after a long hibernation through the winter. The 52-year-old carpenter said he mainly stays local, attending Queenscliff festival last November. Golden Plains and Meredith Music Festival were also usually on his radar.

“I’ve noticed over the last year or two … there’s cost-cutting going on, but the same ticket price,” he said. “So … losing infrastructure and the possibility of seeing more bands.”

Gilmour also notes the challenges faced by younger fans in today’s economy.

“Cost of living is going up and people are feeling it,” he said, “I’m 52 so I’ve got a little bit more money behind me than a 20-year-old trying to scratch their wages together just to go to a music festival.”

For their part, Arkins cautiously suggests the worst could be behind the sector.

“This kind of realignment … is not uncommon,” they said. “We saw it just over a decade ago when the bigger festivals like Big Day Out (2014) and Stereosonic (2016) and Future Music (2015) stopped.

“The big impacts, I’d like to think, have happened, and now we’re looking at those new [festivals] coming through.”

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