Sydney-Based The Nowhere Festival 2025 Postponed

Sydney was set to welcome a new live music event, The Nowhere Festival, next month, but it’s been postponed.

The inaugural event was scheduled to take place at Cockatoo Island, Sydney, on Saturday, 8 and Sunday, 9 February. First announced in October, The Nowhere Festival promised to “challenge perceptions and awaken the senses.”

The Nowhere Festival was announced as a 6,000-capacity event that aims to provide an unforgettable experience. It will feature invigorating dance music by a line-up of local and international artists and mesmerising art installations.

The line-up stars dance music trailblazers Carl Craig and Moodymann, as well as DJ Adiel, Marcel Dettman, Barney Kato, Adi Toohey, Kazuma Onishi, and others. Jody Coker of Essential Events Management, the Australian promoter for the annual Gorgeous Presents NYE Party at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), is in charge of the event's curation.

Coker previously said of the event, “A collective of the world’s best promoters and producers are curating The Nowhere Festival experience - bringing an unparalleled depth of creativity and music to explore and discover.”

The festival announced the event’s cancellation on social media this week (15 January). It cited lower-than-ideal ticket sales, changing ticket trends, the cost of emergency services, and multiple big-name events, such as the Laneway Festival, happening in Sydney on the same weekend as the reasons for its postponement. Punters who purchased tickets through Ticketbooth will receive a full refund.

You can read the postponement announcement below.

It is with deep regret that we announce the postponement of The Nowhere Festival Sydney 2025.

Despite the best efforts of our dedicated team over the past 12 months, we have had to make this difficult decision several weeks ahead of the planned festival date.

The support services required to deliver the festival are contingent on achieving certain ticket sales thresholds. Unfortunately, current sales have not reached the necessary levels at this time. While we recognise that ticket purchase trends increase closer to the event, the timing of this is uncertain, and it poses significant risks to the artists, attendees, and the overall festival experience.

Compounding this challenge, other major events scheduled for the same weekend—Dreamstate, Sail GP, and The Laneway Festival—are placing additional pressure on critical resources and services in Sydney. Support service providers require immediate confirmation of final numbers, which we are unable to provide with the current ticket sales figures.

Given the number of international artists involved and the complexities of delivering a festival of this scale, we believe it would be irresponsible to allow this situation to go down to the wire.

We want to acknowledge the incredible work of our team, the unwavering support of artists and their representatives, and the enthusiasm of our ticket holders. Your belief in our vision has meant everything to us, and we are deeply disappointed not to be able to bring the festival to life as planned.

Ticket holders who purchased through Ticketbooth.com.au will receive a full refund. The refund process will be initiated in the coming days, all ticket holders will be contacted directly. For further inquiries, please contact Jody Coker at essentialeventsmanagement@gmail.com

While this is a heartbreaking outcome, we remain hopeful about the future and continue to explore opportunities to relaunch The Nowhere Festival at a later date.

Thank you for your understanding and support.