Another Australian music festival has unfortunately been cancelled, with Western Australia’s You & Me festival falling victim to poor ticket sales.
Originally scheduled for New Year’s Eve at Hay Park in Bunbury, the festival was set to feature major acts like The Veronicas, Soulja Boy, and The Temper Trap.
On Friday, festival founder Bailey Chalmers, who runs the event through his company Together Group, announced the disappointing news on Instagram, expressing his devastation.
‘I’m sorry darlings You & Me 2024 is officially cancelled,’ the post read. ‘Unfortunately I wasn’t able to put on the show you all deserve.
‘I explored every possible avenue for the festival to go ahead, however unfortunately it was just not possible.’
Bailey concluded the message with a call to action for the Australian festival-going public.
Another Australian music festival has unfortunately been cancelled, with Western Australia ‘s You & Me festival falling victim to poor ticket sales
‘I ask just one thing,’ he wrote. ‘Please keep supporting Australian festivals & live music or they’ll be gone before you know it.’
In an interview with the ABC, Bailey explained that low ticket sales and high insurance costs were significant factors in the festival’s cancellation.
He mentioned that one of the festival’s headliners, whose name he did not disclose, was unable to enter the country.
‘Unless you can find a replacement of similar calibre, it becomes challenging to proceed with a show that is very different from what was originally advertised,’ Bailey stated.
He also expressed the need for more government support for festivals, as rising costs continue to burden the struggling industry.
‘These days due to music festivals being so up and down with cancelling and not going ahead, a lot of artists now are taking bigger deposits,’ he said.
‘Some artists are asking for 100 per cent of [their] fee up front.’
The cancellation is the latest in a long line of scuttled Australian music festivals in 2024.
On Friday, festival founder Bailey Chalmers, who runs the event through his company Together Group, announced the disappointing news on Instagram, expressing his devastation
US rapper Soulja Boy was one of the main drawcards for the scuttled festival
This year has seen high-profile events such as Groovin’ The Moo, Splendour In The Grass, and Bluesfest recently announce their cancellations.
Bluesfest, possibly the best-known festival on the Australian circuit, announced it would be closing its doors after the 2025 iteration, ending a 35-year run.
Like many Australian festivals, Bluesfest has faced numerous challenges, including rising costs, changes in ticket-buying behaviour, and disruptions from the COVID pandemic and extreme weather conditions.
The festival was shut down in 2020 due to state-imposed mass gathering restrictions, and the following year, it was cancelled just days before opening after a single COVID case was detected.
Bluesfest made a triumphant return in 2022, with total audience attendance over the five days reaching about 100,000 people.
However, the events in 2023 and 2024 did not sell out, putting festival director Peter Noble under financial pressure.
Next year’s festival has also been trimmed down from five to four days due to cost increases and falling ticket sales.
In an interview with the ABC , Bailey explained that low ticket sales and high insurance costs were significant factors in the festival’s cancellation
!['Unless you can find a replacement of similar calibre, it becomes an issue of try[ing] to go ahead with a very different show than was originally advertised.' Pictured: Aussie pop duo The Veronicas, who were also slated to perform](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/16/05/92135595-14089683-_He_actually_wasn_t_able_to_get_into_the_country_Bailey_said_Unl-a-84_1731735041705.jpg)
‘Unless you can find a replacement of similar calibre, it becomes an issue of try[ing] to go ahead with a very different show than was originally advertised.’ Pictured: Aussie pop duo The Veronicas, who were also slated to perform
Following the announcement of the end of Bluesfest, Tamara Smith, the Member for Ballina — which includes the Byron Shire where the festival takes place — started a petition urging the State Government to provide a rescue package to save this long-running event.
The petition calls on the State Government to develop and implement a comprehensive support plan for the festival, including financial assistance, policy support, and the establishment of long-term support mechanisms.
Following the cancellation of this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival, music promoter Danny Grant shared a TikTok video explaining that the festival’s lineup was considered too ‘diverse.’
‘They have had a nightmare three years and were trying to diversify too much,’ the promoter, who runs the Hello Sunshine Festival, said in the video.
‘They went from Kylie Minogue to [American rapper] Future and they were probably aiming at crowds that didn’t want to see each other.’
He added: ‘I don’t think there was much of a crossover. It did the opposite of what they were hoping for.’
Australian rapper Illy also weighed in and claimed the issue is ‘more cultural than cost of living’-based as people aren’t going to pay money to see acts they aren’t interested in.
‘Australian music CULTURE is broken,’ he wrote on X.
‘Yes Falls, Groovin, and now Splendour (not to mention countless smaller ones) go under, but Pink just did 20 stadium shows, Taylor Swift did 600,000+ tix, Fred again 100,000+ in a day.. it’s both, but it’s more cultural than cost of living.’
Illy also claimed Australian music has ‘suddenly got worse’ as people won’t spend ‘money to go see acts they don’t want to’.
This year has seen such high profile events as Groovin’ The Moo, Splendour In The Grass, Bluesfest (pictured), all recently announcing cancellations
