Adelaide instalment of touring music festival canned
The Adelaide edition of Wildlands won’t go ahead in 2026, but no other cities are affected.
Single day music festival Wildlands, usually held in Ellis Park/Tampawardli in January, won’t return to Adelaide in 2026.
Organisers Untitled Group announced the snub on Friday morning, saying the event is unviable given the economic landscape of festivals in SA.
“This isn’t a call we wanted to make, especially after three strong years in South Australia, but the landscape has shifted, and the viability of delivering the event at the standard we hold ourselves to simply isn’t possible this season,” the statement read.
The statement says the Brisbane and Perth shows will still go ahead and be the “strongest shows yet”.
In 2025, the festival brought only eight of the 26 artists on the national lineup to its Adelaide show, including the Gold Coast-raised Fisher headlining, joined by Ice Spice and Chase & Status.
Along with its notable lineup, Wildlands typically had a second stage with a lineup of mostly local DJs, bolstering local involvement in the scene.
While the organisers didn’t specify why delivering an Adelaide show is unviable, it comes after other festivals Harvest Rock 2024, Vintage Vibes, Groovin’ the Moo, and more were cancelled due to economic challenges and a lack of ticket sales.
The economic threats to music festivals have been well documented by CityMag and InDaily, hearing from promoters like the teams behind Beer & BBQ Festival and Spin Off that higher insurance premiums, rising rents, slowing ticket sales and the cost-of-living crisis were reasons why the industry is struggling.
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Off the back of this, “buy your tickets early” topped the list of CityMag’s guide to gig etiquette published in February 2025, pointing out the open secret: Adelaideans are notoriously bad at this, and it’s why we miss out on so many gigs. Venues and bookers don’t want to bring a band to Adelaide if they think it won’t sell.
In its statement, Wildlands organisers said Adelaide is “too often overlooked when it comes to large-scale music events” and “we hope to return to Adelaide in the future”.
Wildlands Brisbane and Perth editions and its sister festival Beyond the Valley – which celebrates 10 years in 2025 – will still go ahead.
Former attendees of Wildlands Adelaide that are signed up to its mailing list will still receive priority access to news and ticket sales for the interstate shows.
