Organisers of Byron Bay’s Bluesfest have blamed poor ticket sales and rising production costs for their decision to cancel the popular music festival just three weeks out from this year’s event.

The festival – which has hosted artists such as Bob Dylan, R.E.M and Midnight Oil over its 36-year history – was to have been held from April 2 to 5 with headliners Split Enz and Parkway Drive.

But on Friday, festival director Peter Noble said organisers had made the “incredibly difficult” decision to pull the plug.

“For more than three decades, Bluesfest has brought extraordinary artists and audiences together in Byron Bay while also driving significant tourism and economic activity for the Northern Rivers and NSW,” Noble said.

“This makes the decision incredibly difficult. After careful consideration, we concluded we could not proceed in a way that would meet the standard our audiences, artists and partners expect.”

Split Enz were supposed to kick off their Australian tour at Bluesfest.

A statement shared on social media said the festival had been affected by “rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, combined with a challenging environment for major live events”.

It added that a liquidator had been appointed, and ticket holders would be contacted with information about the claims process and any refund arrangements.

“To our fans, artists, partners and the Byron Bay community, thank you for 36 unforgettable years,” it concluded. “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been part of the Bluesfest journey.”

Organisers promoted the 2025 Bluesfest as the event’s final curtain call, but backflipped on the decision after the festival.

More than 100,000 patrons attended last year over the Easter long weekend.

Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said the cancellation of Bluesfest was a huge economic loss, adding that the event was also “such a big part of the fabric of our community”.

“Very much feeling for all the people involved, obviously very difficult times with all the things that are going on in the world at the moment.”

Bluesfest is just latest in a string of Australian music festivals that have gone under in recent years, including Splendour in the Grass, touring event Groovin the Moo and Adelaide’s Vintage Vibes.

Jimmy Barnes played at the 2024 Bluesfest after recovering from open-heart surgery. Photo: Getty

Australian musician Ash Grunwald has played at the festival multiple times and told the ABC he felt “really, really saddened” by its demise.

“It was an amazing festival,” he said.

“It gave [musicians] exposure to all of Australia because everybody went to it, and also because they had amazing international acts, which as a musician was very inspiring to see.”

Greens spokesperson for the arts Sarah Hanson-Young described the Bluesfest cancellation as “another devastating blow to Australia’s music community and a stark warning about the fragile state of our arts sector”.

“Countless arts organisations, venues, and festivals are being pushed to the brink in this cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

“Without urgent and sustained investment, more events that support Australian musicians and creatives will disappear… the cancellation of yet another music festival today should be a wake-up call.”