Good Life Festival is the latest casualty in what’s starting to feel like a full-scale wipeout of Australian music events.
The teen-focused festival, which has run since 2010, sadly won’t be returning in 2025. It marks yet another blow to a scene already bruised by back-to-back cancellations.
Organisers cited “rising operational and talent costs” as the main culprit. They claim it’s no longer feasible to deliver the kind of lineup Aussie teens have come to expect. In past years, that’s included names like A$AP Rocky, Avicii, Macklemore, and The Kid Laroi. Not bad for a festival that markets itself as a drug- and alcohol-free rite of passage for the under-18 crowd.
In an official statement posted to Instagram, organisers said, “This isn’t goodbye. We look forward to returning stronger in 2026.” A bold move, considering the growing graveyard of festivals that have said the same and vanished into the ether.
Good Life now joins a growing list of events that have been canned or postponed. The most headline-grabbing was Splendour in the Grass, which pulled the pin on its 2025 return after already skipping 2024. Once a juggernaut that drew crowds of up to 50,000, Splendour has been on shaky ground. It’s most recent lineup copping flak for lacking big-name international acts. The organisers say the festival just needs time to “recharge,” but with no guarantees for 2026, fans aren’t holding their breath.
Then there’s Souled Out, which dropped all three of its shows earlier this year, and Victoria’s Esoteric Festival, which quietly disappeared this month. At this point, it’s hard to say what’s next—other than more bad news.
Whether it’s poor ticket sales, skyrocketing costs, or bloated lineups trying to please everyone, the cracks in the festival model are becoming hard to ignore. For now, it looks like we’re in the middle of a reset. Here’s hoping something stronger grows out of the rubble. Who knows.
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