Australian festival Groovin The Moo cancelled just two weeks after announcement

A major Aussie music festival set to feature the likes of Spice Girls star Melanie C and rock band Jet has been cancelled.

A major Aussie festival set to feature the likes of Spice Girls star Melanie C and rock band Jet has been cancelled for 2024.

Groovin The Moo was due to kick off in South Australia in two months, however organisers have now revealed the tour will no longer be going ahead this year.

Groovin the Moo 2024 has been axed following “poor ticket sales”. Picture from Patrick Woods.

In an email on Thursday morning, event organisers delivered the bad news to ticketholders, claiming they hadn’t sold enough tickets to make it viable, despite tickets only going on sale two weeks ago.

It becomes the latest Australian festival severely affected by the cost of living crisis.

“We are extremely disappointed to announce that the GTM 2024 tour has been forced to cancel,” said the announcement on Wednesday.

“Ticket sales have not been sufficient to deliver a regional festival of this kind. All tickets will be refunded automatically. Thank you to everybody who has supported the festival. We hope to be able to bring Groovin The Moo back to regional communities in the future.”

GTM has been cancelled. Picture: Instagram

Groovin The Moo ran its first-ever edition in 2005, running every year until 2019. 2020 and 2021 were the first years to be cancelled due to the global pandemic.

The annual event had an array of artists set to take to the stage, including King Stingray, The Beaches, San Cisco, Melanie C, Meduza, Wu Tang’s GZA, Stephen Sanchez, Jet, Alison Wonderland, Mallrat, DMA’S and The Jungle Giants.

Groovin the Moo Festival organisers shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram after emailing ticket holders. Picture from Instagram.

Ahead of announcing the line-up, the Maitland leg of the festival had been moved to Newcastle.

It was set to begin in late April and run through until mid-May, hitting venues in Canberra, Bendigo, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast and Bunbury.

Over the years, Groovin The Moo has brought big international artists like Alt-J, Denzel Curry, Channel Tres, Billie Eilish, Sofi Tukker, The Wombats, Charli XCX, Disclosure to Australian fans who live outside major metro areas.

It comes after a widespread asbestos contamination impacted a popular annual festival in Sydney.

Mardi Gras Fair Day has been cancelled four days out from the event after asbestos was discovered in Victoria Park, near the city’s CBD.

The organisers, City of Sydney, were informed of the site’s possible contamination on Monday with EPA officers undertaking tests earlier this week which returned positive results for bonded asbestos.It comes as the EPA confirms a total of 22 sites across Sydney are contamination sites, prompting the closure of parks, building sites, schools and train stations.

Originally published as Australian festival Groovin The Moo cancelled just two weeks after announcement