In yet another blow to Australia’s music festival scene, with Adelaide’s Harvest Rock revealing that it won’t be going ahead this year.
The inaugural run of the festival, held at the Rymill & King Rodney Parks in late 2022, brought the likes of Jack White, Sam Fender, The Black Crowes, Kurt Vile and Hot Chip alongside local royalty Tones & I, Goanna, Genesis Owusu, The Living End, Courtney Barnett, Ruby Fields to Adelaide for a weekend of live music, killer cuisine, “innovative” bars, and art installations.
Harvest Rock returned for its second edition last October and, with it, secured exclusive sets from Jamiroquai and Beck. The festival also locked in Nile Rodgers & Chic, Aussie favourites Ocean Alley, Paul Kelly, indie rock heavyweights Bright Eyes, Built To Spill, The Lemon Twigs, Sparks, New Zealand’s Ladyhawke, Santigold, Warpaint, and many more.
Presented by tour promoters Secret Sounds, the cancellation of Harvest Rock follows this year’s demise of Splendour In The Grass, canned just weeks after the line-up was announced.
Secret Sounds announced the unfortunate news about Harvest Rock this afternoon, revealing in a statement:
Hey Harvest Rockers, and lovers of live music, wine, food and brew. We’ve been working hard to make Harvest Rock III another incredible event, however we have made the difficult decision to not hold the festival in 2024. We appreciate the ongoing support of the South Australian Government and we look forward to Harvest Rock in the future 🍒🎸🤘❤️
For our dedicated fans who bought early tickets in 2023 you will automatically be refunded through the original point of purchase within 14 days.
In a review of the first-ever Harvest Rock Festival, The Music’s Melissa Griffin declared, “Despite the weather, the inaugural Harvest Rock Festival kicked off with a bang.”
Citing the energy of Sam Fender’s massive set, Griffin continued, “Fender and friends leave the stage to a chorus of singing, the audience desperate for an encore that never comes as they sink further into the mud. Both Fender’s and Harvest Rock’s first Adelaide appearance was a triumph according to the rain-soaked crowd left singing for more.”
2024 has seen the end of Mona Foma and the struggles of boutique and newer events, including Coastal Jam, Tent Pole, ValleyWays, Now & Again, and Fairbridge.
Pandemonium Rocks festival was also hit with cancellation reports and revealed an altered line-up. Meanwhile, Wanderer announced that it’s moved to a biennial format, while Falls and Mona Foma’s winter sibling, Dark Mofo, took breaks in 2023 and 2024. Woodford Folk Festival also encourages punters to support the event more than ever in uncertain times. Another new festival, Promise Village, was cancelled just days after tickets went on sale.
