Falls Festival Site Still For Sale

The Falls Festival site in Lorne, Victoria – 985 Erskine Falls Road – is still for sale despite being put on the market in March.

The 144.5 acres (58.84 hectares) rural property has an asking price of $3.7 million plus GST following the festival’s 27-year run at the Lorne site.

According to the posting on Domain, the site holds “Existing infrastructure” that “includes the main festival stage, extensive shedding, a large warehouse, office buildings and a three-bedroom farmhouse at the heart of the undulating property.”

The advertisement also mentions “Future possibilities at the site”, with suggestions including “a wellness retreat nestled in the Otways, a creative hub for musicians, school camp or a myriad of other opportunities” that are subject to council approval.

The 2022 Victorian leg of Falls Festival was supposed to move to Birregurra, in the Otways region, which became logistically impossible following the filing of a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) case appealing against the Colac Shire Otway Council's issuing of planning approvals for the festival.

While the case wasn’t heard until February/March of this year, Falls had no choice but to move its event. And so, Falls Downtown Melbourne was born at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

Falls faced other challenges, including two years of postponed festivals due to COVID-19 lockdowns and a 2019 event in Lorne cancelled due to insurmountable bushfire risk.

Falls Festival won’t go ahead in 2023 after a tumultuous few years. Secret Sounds co-CEO and Falls producer Jessica Ducrou said in a statement:

“While Falls’ reboot in 2022/23 was full of amazing moments, and we were thrilled to reconnect with our Falls Fam, our team needs a break, so this year, we’ll take time off to enjoy the holiday period and allow some space to re-imagine how Falls will look in the future.”

In 2022, the Victorian edition of Falls Festival moved to a one-off urban location of Falls at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl ("+ surrounds") – capitalising on the New Year's Eve fireworks. The Music’s Cyclone Wehner commented that the event “was a surprising success – so much so that it should become permanent.” You can read our full three-day review here.