The difficult year for festivals is seemingly not easing up anytime soon..
Header image by Liam Fawell.
It's been a strange day for Australian music festivals. Earlier today, Splendour In The Grass - fresh from postponing their July 2020 festivities to October 2020, then again to July 2021 - announced their three headliners for next year, with The Strokes and Tyler The Creator retaining their headline positions, while Flume - who has been forced to cancel due to scheduling conflicts - has been replaced by Gorillaz, whose headline slot would mark the legendary group's first Australian shows in ten years.
Now, comes Listen Out news. With the festival's forward-thinking and often international act-heavy lineup, anyone could've guessed that the festival may be have been changing in 2020, either going all-Australian like Falls Festival and Laneway Festival, or cancelling 2020 altogether and focusing on 2021 instead. However, the festival has been quiet through much of the last few months - even as their standard, May lineup announce window came and went - with nothing but a peep from its organisers while they seemingly tried to work on a game plan.
Today, official notice came that Listen Out 2020 - and Adelaide's Listen In off-shoot - have been cancelled. "Well, we waited as long as we possibly could in case it became possible... but as you probably expected, the Listen Out / Listen In Aust & NZ tour can't go ahead this year," says organisers on the event in a statement today, posted on their social media. "We had a killer lineup ready to go, a new venue for Melbourne and heaps of changes in the other cities which you would have loved. Sadly though, it wasn't to be..."
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However, the festival is encouraging people to keep looking forward, and focus on what's ahead. "But we're already working hard on Listen Out / Listen In 2021 and we cannot wait to see you there! Til then: Stay true, stay strong, and keep love in your heart."
The announcement comes with a video soundtracked by Louis The Child's Love Is Alive, seemingly hinting - in classic, Listen Out fashion - that the US duo were included on the festival lineup.
You can find the full announcement below:
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