Woodford Attendance 'As Critical As It Has Ever Been'

Woodford Folk Festival is calling on its supporters for help, stating that attendance at this year’s event is “as critical as it ever has been, if not more so.”

Referencing the difficulty Australian music festivals have faced this year, which have struck big names like Splendour In The Grass and Groovin The Moo, as well as smaller events like Coastal Jam and ValleyWays, Woodford’s Managing Director, Amanda Jackes, has said that the festival is “not immune” to those struggles.

• 'It's Crucial That This Year Works': Woodford Folk Festival Reveals Audience Decline

“At a gathering earlier this year, everyone agreed that we should forge ahead unapologetically for an ambitious Woodford Folk Festival this year, and we are,” a statement from Jackes reads.

Jackes continued, “As has always been the case, it is through the difficult times our extended community of Woodfordians get behind us to get us over the line. It’s already started with some excellent early ticket sales; thanks to this we can breathe a little easier. However, we need a consistent flow of monthly sales to ensure we’re in the best position come December.”

Adding that the “big financial turnover” is a “large financial risk” for Woodford Folk Festival, Jackes stated that the event has made a surplus on all of its festivals for 36 years – bar six of them.

“In recent times, several things have changed; first, because of the financial world, our margins of surplus have halved,” Jackes continued. “We hope you noticed our very small ticket price increases are nowhere near matching the inflation rates we are seeing from suppliers.

“Second, the cost of recommissioning the infrastructure after the pandemic was substantial.

“And finally, the losses which you may already know about, caused by the climate events, profoundly impacted our ticket sales in December last year.”

Jackes encourages punters to purchase tickets and urges their friends to lock in tickets to this year’s Woodford Folk Festival.

You can also utilise payment plans to attend the event, which Jackes describes as such: “If you purchased a Full Season Ticket with Camping today you would pay $37 today and then $37 weekly leading up to the festival. About a pub meal and a few drinks worth - pending where you go to the pub.”

You can find tickets here and more information regarding payment plans here.

The latest Woodford Folk Festival ran for six days and nights, starting on 27 December and culminating in a grand New Year's Day Fire Event (the festival takes place on the same dates for 2024/25).

Artists who performed at the event included Kasey Chambers, Ben Lee, Kate Miller-Heidke, Steph Strings, Mo’Ju, Yirrmal, FourPlay String Quartet, Leah Flanagan, Odette, Haiku Hands, Bumpy, Aya Ives, Loretta, Late November, Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham, and more.