Qld festival confirms curtain call
Rising costs, wild weather and complex logistics have spelled the end of an outback music festival, which had become an annual pilgrimage for many Australians.
If Australia’s most remote music festival is on your bucket list, you’ve got one last chance to tick it off.
The 2027 Birdsville Big Red Bash will be the festival’s finale on the edge of the Simpson Desert, organisers announced on Wednesday morning.
That cancellation, rising costs, unpredictable weather and the complex logistics of hosting a large event in a remote outpost led to the decision to end the Birdsville festival.
“The Big Red Bash has been successful and financially viable … but the ongoing outside pressures have ultimately led us to the conclusion that continuing at the remote Birdsville site is becoming difficult to sustain for the long term,” founder Greg Donovan said in a statement.
You might like
It is the latest in a string of festivals that have folded, been postponed or paused amid increased costs, including Byron Bay Bluesfest, OUT 2 LUNCH, Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, and Falls Festival.
The Big Red Bash was founded in 2013 to raise funds for type-1 diabetes research after Donovan’s son was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition.
It transformed into a pilgrimage for thousands of Australians, who travelled from all corners of the country to the outback town.
In the bash’s sell-out years, Birdsville’s usual population of about 110 people turned into 11,000.
Stay informed, daily
With no running water, sewerage, power or communications at the desert festival site, all infrastructure, food and fuel had to be trucked in.
Donovan said he understood the effect the cancellation would have on local businesses, surrounding communities and associated charities.
“A lot of our blood, sweat and tears have been spilled on that land,” Donovan said.
“I gambled our family house and all my redundancy payout to make the event happen and it has been an unexpected but magical journey.”
He said it was a privilege for the festival to go out with a celebration, after welcoming nearly 80,000 people to the Queensland outback over 13 years.
Artists including Missy Higgins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Living End, Birds of Tokyo, Jessica Mauboy, Shannon Noll, Kate Ceberano, The Whitlams, Tim Finn, Troy Cassar-Daley and Leo Sayer are set to play the finale from July 6.
Organisers said they were confident the remaining floodwater on the site would dry out over the summer months and into the new year.
Those who want to make the final trek will be able to buy tickets from November 12, with full refunds available if the finale also has to be cancelled.
Donovan’s Outback Music Festival Group will continue to run the Mundi Mundi Bash in Broken Hill, which can rely on sealed roads, more infrastructure and a bigger host town.
-with AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
