Bluesfest To End in 2025

The iconic Bluesfest Byron Bay is the latest in a long line of Aussie festivals to bite the dust.

One of Australia’s greatest and longest running music festivals, Bluefest Byron Bay, is set to end for good in 2025.

The final edition of the much-loved festival will take place next year across four days from Thursday, April 17 to Sunday, April 20 at Byron Events Farm.

In a statement about Bluesfest’s end, Festival Director Peter Noble said: "To my dear Bluesfest family, and after more than 50 years in the music business, Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community, and the resilient spirit of our fans.

“But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter. As I said earlier this year at Bluesfest 2024, next year’s festival will be happening and it definitely is, but it will be our last.

“To my dear Bluesfest family, I want to make it the most unforgettable experience yet. If you’ve been thinking about it, now is your last chance to experience our beloved festival."

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The end of Bluesfest comes just days after Adelaide’s own Harvest Rock was cancelled and is another huge blow to Australia’s music festival scene that’s also seen the cancellations of Splendour in the Grass, Groovin’ the Moo and Spilt Milk.

The iconic festival was first held at Byron Bay’s Arts Factory in April 1990 and headlined by international blues act Canned Heat and musician Charlie Musselwhite. It became a staple of the Australian festival calendar and a long list of incredible performers have taken to the Bluesfest stages over the journey, including BB King, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Ben Harper, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Jack Johnson and Midnight Oil

But it hasn’t all been rosy, with the award-winning festival suffering from low ticket sales over the past couple of years as people struggled with the cost of living crisis, a factor which no doubt played a role in the festival’s demise.

So if you want to experience Bluesfest before it ends, get yourself a ticket for the final edition in 2025. According to the statement released by the festival on social media, the first lineup announcement will take place next week, with Bluesfest organisers promising a “lineup worthy of this momentous occasion.”

Tickets for Bluesfest Byron Bay are on sale now via Moshtix.