UPDATE: Harvest Festival 2013 has been officially cancelled. More details here.
During a series of Tweets posted early this morning, Soundwave boss AJ Maddah has expressed concern over the wellbeing of sister event Harvest Festival. It seems that strong competition in the market and a general lack of interest has made organisers unsure if they will continue with the event.
Maddah explains that the team is having a “crisis of confidence” in regards to the event, saying the Big Day Out 2014 line up, which he previously praised, has more or less cut Harvest’s grass by including acts such as Blur, Arcade Fire and The Lumineers. Being a boutique niche festival, Harvest simply doesn’t have the coffers to compete and, as a result, ticket sales have begun to slump, particularly in Brisbane.
At this point in time, it looks like organisers are weighing up whether to cut their losses now or push on with the second announcement and hope ticket sales increase.
The lineup for 2013 was looking strong with Massive Attack, Franz Ferdinand, Primus in big letters and another round of acts expected to be announced in the coming days. Volcano Choir have just been added to the list so many already have a vested interest in further announcements.
With Maddah saying that “unless we see some kind of sign in the next week we’ll have to consider the worst,” let’s just hope organisers get the sign they’re looking for.
@the_zing Nope. Having a crisis of confidence about the whole event atm.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@JamesQuick42 @the_zing Me too.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@CaZZaConspiracy @the_zing Since BDO announced a very top heavy Harvest-centric line-up (Blur, Arcade Fire, Lumineers, etc), sales have died
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@CaZZaConspiracy @the_zing Which is understandable tbh. As a small boutique festival with emphasis on arts & experience we can't compete
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@CaZZaConspiracy @the_zing We're heartbroken seeing our favourite child get sickly and are doing everything to make it work.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@CaZZaConspiracy @the_zing But the truth is that unless we see some kind of sign in the next week we'll have to consider the worst 🙁
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@MitchO73 @the_zing Lack of interest, particularly in Brisbane.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013
@CaZZaConspiracy @the_zing Either that or we have dug an even deeper hole… That's what I am trying to decide atm
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) September 9, 2013