Since 2018, the festival has taken place in Lancaster’s Williamson Park in May. Busted and Tom Odell were among the notable performers this year.
It won’t happen next year, according to co-founder Rich Dyer, because of growing expenses.
He added that the event “hasn’t made any money yet” and that it is “extremely difficult” to get well-known performers, “especially for an independent festival in the north of England.”
Although we’ve had a fantastic run and seen some amazing performances over the years, we finally need to refocus our efforts because everything is getting more expensive.
It’s a big choice. It’s a year-long project that requires a lot of energy, and every year we lose money working on it.
“We’ve dealt with Covid, the cost of living crisis and ultimately we’re not on the right path and we need to start again.”
He stated that the festival “has always been organised by a dedicated, small team from the local community” and that “our income relies solely on ticket sales and bar revenues, which, given the current climate, simply isn’t enough to break even” .
“We will come bouncing back in 2026,” he continued nonetheless.
