Kane BrownJust over a month since it was announced, the inaugural edition of the LONGHAUL Festival has been cancelled.
The three-date festival was formally detailed on July 21st (shortly after it was first teased on social media), with the event set to visit the showgrounds in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane in late January.
Headlined by international acts Kane Brown and Kacey Musgraves, it was also set to feature a number of other local and international acts, including Margo Price, Denvah, Charles Wesley Godwin, and more.
“LONGHAUL Touring is just getting started with this flagship festival and there is a lot more in the pipeline to share with you all very soon,” said TEG Live’s Global Head of Touring, Tim McGregor, upon the festival’s announcement.
“In the meantime we look forward to welcoming fans to LONGHAUL Festival next January for what will be a great summer’s day out in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.”
However, the event has now officially been cancelled, with a TEG spokesperson confirming the news to Countrytown this morning.
"TEG has a long history of supporting country music artists,” the statement read. “Despite our excitement to bring this brand-new format to the market for fans, we have realised that unfortunately it’s not the right time to launch a new country music festival in Australia.”
It continued:
We have made the difficult decision to cancel the festival sooner rather than later, to provide certainty to our valued fans and talented artists.
We are disappointed in this outcome and sincerely apologise to the fans who purchased tickets. Full refunds will of course be provided.
Many factors need to work together for an event of this scale, and bringing something brand-new to the market is always challenging.
We will continue to bring country music tours to Australia for the many fans who, like us, love country music.
At the time of the announcement, no information has been provided as to whether the likes of exclusive acts such as Brown, Musgraves, or Price will still be visiting Australia in January, or whether replacement dates will be announced in the near future.
News of the festival’s cancellation comes just days after it was revealed that TEG had axed its nascent country division, barely six months after it was first launched.
Per reports, the decision has been linked to CEO Cameron Hoy’s – who took on the top role in May after Brad Banducci stepped down – goal in cutting costs after the loss of several notable contracts.
