Overview
It's been a tough couple of years to be in the music festival business, with the pandemic wreaking havoc on our daily lives, and COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions limits the kinds of events that have been able to take place. Wollongong's Yours and Owls knows this all too well, but back in April 2021, it was able to go ahead — becoming the first major music festival that New South Wales had seen in over a year, as well as the first to allow dancing as well. For its 2022 edition, however, the weather has gotten in the way.
Due to take place this coming weekend — in Stuart Park from Saturday, April 2–Sunday, April 3 — this year's Yours and Owls has now been cancelled. Announcing the news in a statement, organisers said that "with the exciting news last month regarding restrictions lifting, we thought we had a smooth run into the 2022 festival; however, mother nature has a different plan. With total exhaustion and sadness, we announce the cancellation of Yours and Owls 2022 due to flooding."
"With the amount of water that has landed on Stuart Park in the past few weeks, the flash flooding we experienced in The Gong over the weekend and the forecast for the rest of this week, we simply cannot safely execute this year's event," the statement continued.
"We have been pumping water off the site, developing other management and mitigation plans, even using the SCG's famous Super Sopper, but nothing has been a match for the formidable force of La Niña. After lengthy consultation with relevant stakeholders and emergency services and no appropriate alternate event site in the area, we are left with no option other than a full cancellation."
Hilltop Hoods, Benee, Bliss & Eso, Flight Facilities, The Jungle Giants, Peking Duk and Violent Soho were set to top this year's bill, giving festival-goers quite the array of big-name acts to look forward to. The hefty lineup went on, too, including Faker, Ruby Fields, San Cisco, The Meanies, Sycco and more.
And, Yours and Owls' 2022 fest had moved to a bigger site as well — well, back to a familiar site — both in terms of space, and being able to accommodate more people.
If you're disappointed, obviously the festival's organisers are, too. "We share your disappointment and apologise for any inconvenience caused; we would love nothing more than to be gearing up to hang with you all this weekend for Gong Christmas," the Yours and Owls team said in their statement.
"The past few years have been an unprecedented shit fight of biblical proportions for the live music industry. We want to thank all our staff, contractors, suppliers, artists, industry colleagues, stakeholders, the local Gong community, and all of you who bought tickets to Yours and Owls 2022 for your continued support; it means the world to us."
Ticketholders will receive full refunds, and will be contacted directly by Moshtix.
Yours and Owls will no longer take place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 at Stuart Park, Wollongong. All ticketholders will receive refunds via Moshtix. For more information about the event, head to the festival's website.