The 2025 festival will be its 35th edition, with its festival director and owner, Peter Noble, having been in the music business for half a century.
“Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community and the resilient spirit of our fans,” said Noble in a social media post announcing the news early this morning.
“But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter.
“I want to make it the most unforgettable experience yet.”
With 6,000 attendees in its first year in 1990, the event has grown to around 100,000 attendees in recent years, with 200 performances across several stages over five days.
The festival typically pulls some big international names, having hosted Bob Dylan, Hozier, John Mayer, Joss Stone, John Legend, BB King, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Lionel Ritchie, Kendrick Lamar, The National and Jack Johnson. Major Australian artists and bands also take the stage each year.
The festival was won many awards, including eight Australian Event Awards. It was also shortlisted as one of the best musical festivals of the decade in the US-based Pollstar Awards in 2021.
Bluesfest had a tough time during the pandemic, with its 2020 festival biting the dust less than two months out from the event when the first restrictions were announced, while the 2021 event was shut down by the government just a day before it was due to begin after a single COVID case was found in Byron Bay.
Bluesfest organisers commissioned economic impact research to determine the cost of the postponement of the 2021 festival, which ended up highlighting the value of the festival to the economy overall. The economic loss from 2021 was estimated to be $181.2 million.
The 2021 festival was eventually cancelled altogether after being postponed to October, at which time Sydney was in a months’ long lockdown while regional areas was subject to intermittent lockdowns.
Music festivals are having a rough year in 2024, with several major cancellations, including Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Spilt Milk and Havest Rock, whose cancellation was announced last Friday.
