Island Vibe Festival 'Forced' To Make Last-Minute Venue Relocation

The long-running Queensland music event, Island Vibe Festival, has been “forced” to relocate from the Noosa North Shore to Gunalda just a week out from this year’s festival.

This year’s festival marks the 19th edition of Island Vibe, and the three-day music and arts event is already sold out. However, event organisers recently announced the surprise move to the Gympie region, describing it as “a glitch in Noosa North Shore Campground’s (development application), which would take months to fix with Noosa Council.”

Following events held on North Stradbroke Island and then a move to Noosa, this year’s event will now take place at Hangar O, a massive campground with a larger capacity than the Noosa-booked venue.

But, as the Courier Mail reports, the Noosa council doesn’t have a record of any entity associated with Island Vibe Festival having lodged any development applications for its North Shore campgrounds. This means that the application was either never officially lodged, withdrawn, or improperly submitted.

Island Vibe Festival’s team, led by Director Rudi Quinzalez, informed ticketholders that tickets purchased for the Noosa venue can now be used at Hangar O, but didn’t reveal if refunds would be available for punters unable to attend at the new venue. You can find more information about this year’s festival here.

“Dear Island Vibe Family,

“After 18 beautiful years on Minjerribah, this season has brought a new challenge: finding a fresh home for Island Vibe,” a notice from the Island Vibe team reads, posted on Facebook on Tuesday (11 November. “As Festival Director, I want to extend my heartfelt apologies for the last-minute venue change and any inconvenience it may cause.”

In the post, the Island Vibe team assured punters that they’re “working overtime” to ensure that accommodation options are “rolled over” to the Hangar O venue.

The statement continues, “We know how much this gathering means to you, and we feel it too.

“Our mission has always been to create a space where music moves your soul, your feet find rhythm, food nourishes your body, and artisans share their craft with love and intention. A place where healing hands meet open hearts, and you take home something special, a reminder of the tribe we built together.”

Quinzalez then discussed the difficulties of running an event like Island Vibe Festival, which exists in an “increasingly complex” landscape, with higher regulations and costs, tighter timelines, and “the very essence of what makes Island Vibe unique has been challenged. We’ve had to negotiate, adapt, and sometimes compromise just to stay afloat.”

Showing some love for the festival’s devoted ticket buyers and all the people behind the scenes, Quinzalez continued, “Yet through it all, our community has shown up.

“Our professional crew, our allies, our artists, and our extended family have rallied with resilience and creativity. Teaming up with Peace Run Records and keeping our core Island Vibe staff has been a lifeline helping us stay grounded, positive, and focused on solutions. We couldn’t do this without you.”

This year’s festival features a program packed with reggae, soul, Afrobeats, DNB, and singer-songwriter delights, as well as workshops and space for people to hang out and connect.

The post concluded, “Beachfront venues have become nearly impossible to secure due to increasingly complex council regulations, but your support has kept the Island Vibe spirit alive—and we are so grateful.

“Thank you for walking this journey with us. For your patience, your passion, and your belief in what we do. We can’t wait to gather again, under the trees, with music in the air and love in our hearts.

“With gratitude and fire, Rudi & Andrea + The Island Vibe Team.”