Devastated musicians scheduled to perform at the cancelled Byron Bay Bluesfest slam ‘disgusting’ double standards as Easter weekend footy goes on around the country
- Artists say government have ‘absolutely disgusting’ double standards
- Bluesfest music festival in Byron Bay was cancelled despite just one local case
- Cancellation cost event $10million in further blow to dying arts scene
- Bands say large sports events still going ahead is proof of government bias
Tash Sultana was booked to headline Bluesfest before it was cancelled
Artists have slammed the decision to cancel Bluesfest in Byron Bay as ‘absolutely disgusting’, accusing health offcials of double standards.
Many musicians fear their industry will not survive further lockdowns, after spending a year unable to perform live.
The popular annual music festival was set to be one of the biggest the world has seen since the pandemic began – but the New South Wales government decided to call if off at the last second due to fears the carnival could lead to a super-spreader event.
Artists that were due to play over the weekend included Jimmy Barnes, Tash Sultana John Butler and Pete Murray.
Tyde, another band listed to play, said the fact Bluesfest was cancelled but large sporting events were still allowed to continue is proof of a bias against the arts.
‘Absolutely disgusting that a seated, socially-distanced arts event gets cancelled next to these sports games going ahead,’ the band said.
‘While we believe we have to do the right thing to keep everyone safe, it’s disgusting that sports events in stadiums still go ahead.’
Artists say large crowds being allowed at football games but not at festivals is a double standard and proof of bias against the arts (pictured the Broncos vs Bulldogs game in Brisbane on March 27)
Artists have slammed the decision to cancel Bluesfest saying people’s livelihoods are at risk (pictured Jimmy Barnes)
The popular annual music festival was set to be one of the biggest the world has seen since the pandemic – but has been called off at the last second due to fears the carnival could lead to a super-spreader event
The festival was cancelled on Wednesday night, hours before it was due to begin (pictured, rows of empty chairs on Wednesday)
NSW recorded just one coronavirus case on Wednesday and no new extra cases on Thursday after an infected nurse working in Brisbane attended a hen’s party in Byron Bay over the weekend.
Organises behind Bluesfest are believed to be looking to relocate the festival to a future date rather than cancel the event completely.
The Cat Empire acknowledged the cancellation of the event would be hard but said a continuation of this policy could destroy lives of everyone involved in music.
‘It was so important to see this iconic event prevail, and the shocking timing of a couple of COVID cases has seen it all collapse, taking the hope and livelihood of so many of our industry down with it,’ they said.
Festivalgoers leave the Bluesfest site after it was cancelled on Wednesday – despite just one local case in Byron Bay
Ocean Alley were set to play at Bluesfest but the NSW government cancelled the event
‘We can’t sustain another six or 12 months of this, of sudden lockdowns and being shut down’
Evelyn Richardson, the CEO of Live Performance Australia said Bluesfest would see a $10million loss for the snap decision to cancel it and any further lockdowns would be a death sentence for some of the country’s favourite events.
‘We have people being turned away told go home and an operator that has been running that festival for 30 years who has had the festival shut down two years in a row in an environment where nobody can get insurance for that,’ Ms Richardson told the ABC.
‘We can’t sustain another six or 12 months of this, of sudden lockdowns and being shut down.
‘A lot of artists, a lot of people who have flown in, service providers and so on who all need to be paid, because it was opening tomorrow.’
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