Australian festival Out on the Weekend has announced it will not stage a 2026 event.
Love Police, the promoters of the alt-country and Americana festival, announced the news in a statement on Tuesday evening.
“Out On The Weekend has always been a true labour of love for us. We’re really proud of the community of music lovers that we’ve built and the experiences we’ve shared over many years of Out On The Weekend. But the reality is sometimes it doesn’t all come together, and you just get sick of reaching into your pockets for funds to make it all happen,” Brian “BT” Taranto said.
“With the rising costs and increasing pressures across the live music industry, we’ve just got to hang up our boots for the year and take a breath and see if we can’t bring back the magic in 2027, which will be 30 years of Love Police delivering the good shit.”
Launched in 2014, Out on the Weekend has been held in the Victorian seaside town of Williamstown and has staged a stack of popular local and international talent over the years, including Marlon Williams, CW Stoneking, Fanny Lumsden, Ella Hooper, Ruby Boots and Emma Donovan.
Out on the Weekend is the latest Australian festival to not go ahead with an event this year, which has also included Knotfest, and most recently, Bluesfest.
The festival, which was due to return from April 2nd-5th, was called off earlier this month, with organisers citing “rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, combined with softer ticket demand and international uncertainties” as key factors behind the decision.
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In the weeks since, the situation has grown more complex. A liquidator was appointed to manage the festival’s financial affairs – including vendor payments and ticket refunds – but ticketholders have since called for further investigation after reports emerged that Bluesfest owes approximately $5.7 million to creditors. In correspondence from Worrells, the appointed liquidator, it was also indicated that refunds are “unlikely” to be issued.
In what is a boost for the local festival scene, Groovin the Moo will return this May after a two-year hiatus with a special one-off show.
