Overview
After a horror run over the last three years, another major cancellation has hit the Australian festival scene. This time, The Grass Is Greener has been forced to cancel its new Canberra and Geelong gigs, and four of its acts won't be appearing at the remaining Gold Coast and Cairns dates.
2023 was slated to be a big year for the fest, which made its debut in Cairns back in 2016. This year, it was due to expand outside the Sunshine State, including heading to Canberra and Geelong as part of its planned four-date run — and, it had locked in multiple international headliners. The festival has sadly had to scale back last-minute, citing a range of reasons including weather forecasts, rising costs and the event industry post-COVID.
"The reason for cancellation doesn't rest upon a single factor. Rather, it's related to the culmination of multiple elements that have affected not only us but our industry partners and siblings across the entire event industry in the COVID/post-lockdown period," a statement from The Grass Is Greener team reads.
Curdin Photo
The statement continues: "From an event standpoint, especially heading into these new markets, a festival team relies on certain milestones to enable us to run events successfully. What's more, the weather warnings we're receiving from Canberra and Geelong have also played a large role in this decision. While the shows were selling slower than predicted, we still had full intention of seeing them through — loss or otherwise. However, when coupled with the chance that sites might not even be built due to the impending weather, we knew we had to make a call as soon as possible."
While this is sad news for those in the ACT and Victoria, it's not all doom and gloom. The festival will still be going ahead in the Gold Coast on Saturday, October 22 and Cairns on Saturday, October 29 with the likes of YG, PNAU, Alok, Wafia, Boo Seeka and Wongo.
ONEFOUR, Ty Dollar $ign, Zhu and Maya Jane Coles have dropped off the bill, however, and won't be playing the Gold Coast or Cairns.
Mitch Lowe
Refund information for folks with tickets for the two cancelled dates will be made available in the next 7–14 days, or Canberra and Geelong ticketholders can use their tickets to gain access to the Gold Coast and Cairns festivals.
The festival's statement also mentions that tickets will be valid for YG's Melbourne sideshow on Monday, October 31. YG was billed to appear with Ty Dolla $ign at his Margaret Court Arena show on that date. Be sure to check the festival and YG's Instagram pages for up-to-date info on this sideshow.
PNAU. Image: Pat Stevenson
THE GRASS IS GREENER 2022 LINEUP:
Alok
Aluna
Boo Seeka
Brux
Crush3ed
Little Fritter
Wongo
Market Memories
Mood Swing & Chevy Bass
Pnau
Sidepiece
Sticky Fingers
TDJ
YG
+ more
THE GRASS IS GREENER 2022 DATES:
Saturday, October 22 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast
Saturday, October 29 — Cairns Showgrounds, Cairns
The Grass Is Greener has cancelled its Geelong and Canberra dates. It will now hit the Gold Coast and Cairns with reduced lineups this month. Head to the festival website for more information.
Top image: Mitch Lowe.