Festival Promoter Blames Abbott For Low Ticket Sales

Great Southern Blues Festival at Narooma has been kicking on for 18 years at the hands of festival promoter Neil Mumme. However, Mumme has come out today with a statement to voice his annoyance at Australian politicians, Tony Abbott and his "unrelenting dialogue on terrorism", which he believes is harming ticket sales for his long-running festival.

"Nightly we seem to hear the nation’s leader Tony Abbott on national television sharing his unrelenting dialogue on terrorism. There can be no doubt that it is a global problem, but I am sure the Australian people are smart enough to understand the issue without being constantly bombarded with it by the Prime Minister."

Mumme has seen a decline in the tickets sales for the camping festival since 2014 and believes Abbott's penchant for "building fear" is the cause of it, imploring that festivals, and all events, get a "fair go".

Speaking to theMusic.com.au today, Mumme said they're "tracking okay so far" this year, but that they are "a little bit behind where they'd like it to be". He offered that a sell-out year would see about 3,300 people per day — about 10,000 people over the three-day weekend — but last year's festival saw them at only 2,400 punters per day over the three-day festival. 

Mumme says, "Everyone's saying the world's not in a good place right now, and I'm just over this crap."

“Surely the Prime Minister must understand that if he keeps up this rhetoric, Australians will think twice about leaving home and going to the football, attending festivals or just moving about doing the things we like to do.

"We should be getting out and going to festivals and sporting arenas and community events and standing strong as a nation. Mr Abbott needs to understand how his statements impact the community and our economy before it’s too late.

“We, along with hundreds of other organisations, are committed to building community ties through sporting and cultural events and, in our case, showcasing regional NSW to a broader audience both in Australia and overseas.

"It certainly would be great if the Prime Minister could help us keep doing that. I extend an invite to Tony Abbott to come to our humble little festival in Narooma to enjoy himself."

This year's Great Southern Blues Festival at Narooma runs from 2 October to 4 October with the likes of Blue King Brown, JJ Grey & Mofro, George Porter & The Runnin' Pardners and The Dynamic Hepnotics taking to the stage over the long weekend.