Mountain Sounds festival cancelled citing government’s “war on festivals”

Mountain Sounds festival, due to take place on the Central Coast next week, has been cancelled, with organisers citing the NSW government’s “war on festivals” as forcing their hand. It is the second NSW music festival to be cancelled this week.

Revellers enjoying the Mountain Sounds Festival in 2018.

The Mountain Sounds festival, due to take place at Kariong on the Central Coast next week, has been cancelled, with organisers citing the NSW government’s “war on festivals” as forcing their hand.

It is the second NSW music festival to be cancelled this week.

Organisers said they had been lumped with a $200,000 bill from police to provide an additional 45 user-pay police officers on a 24 hour cycle just one week out from the festival.

“(This) blindsided us as we were quoted for 11 user-pay police on the 18th of January,” a statement released by the organisers on Facebook said.

“Unfortunately, we … have been put in an impossible situation as it was unrealistic for us to pull this money together, particularly given the time frame.”

Revellers enjoying the Mountain Sounds Festival in 2018.

However police claim they had been made the scapegoat for poor planning and numerous breaches of the development application, inadequate medical resources, and substandard plans and preparation.

Police said organisers played down the number of attendees and even suggested the event was unlikely to go ahead because it was financially unviable, at two meetings in January.

According to police, the “few thousand” partygoers organisers said would turn up was revised upwards to 8000 at a meeting last week.

“The event organisers made a decision to cancel the festival based on financial reasons associated with the event,” a police spokeswoman said.

“At no time did police or government direct the organisers to cancel the event.”

Mountain Sounds organisers Architects of Entertainment pay for police at its other concerts FOMO and Lost Paradise.

The cancellation comes one week after organisers announced it had downsized the festival site and dumped more than 20 acts from its line-up. The Mount Penang Parklands event was to be headlined by Angus & Julia Stone as well as Courtney Barnett.

Revellers enjoying the Mountain Sounds Festival in 2018.

“We are devastated to announce the cancellation of Mountain Sounds 2019,” the statement read.

“We, like many of you, have seen the festival climate continue to diminish in Australia. NSW in particular is in dire straits. This is yet another example of the government’s war on festivals.

“Safety has always been of the utmost importance to us, and it was for this reason that we agreed to downsize our festival site, cancelling over 20 acts, to ensure we met newly imposed safety, licensing and security costs, in order to maintain the wellbeing of our patrons and still put on the show.”

Organisers said just one week out from the event that “further conditions and financial obligations were imposed on the festival, which were impossible to meet”.

“The combination of excessive costs, additional licensing conditions and the enforcement of a stricter timeline left us no option but to cancel the event,” the statement read.

“Mountain Sounds is first and foremost about celebrating music, art and culture on the Central Coast. To share in these experiences is our right as a community.

“We poured all of our time, passion and resources into this festival for an entire year — and to have to cancel against our will is crushing.”

Mountain Sounds promoter Adam Masters (left) told the Express Advocate that festivals were copping a lot of “heat”. Picture: Peter Clarke

In 2018, Mountain Sounds boasted an attendance of 16,000 people over two days, and had 11 user-pay police officers in attendance.

There were 49 drug detections over the two days of operation last year.

Brisbane footballer Joshua Tam died from a suspected drug overdose at the Lost Paradise festival, which had been held at Glenworth Valley over the new year period.

At the time, Mountain Sounds promoter Adam Masters said there was a lot of “heat on music festivals at the moment”.

Ticket refunds will be offered next week.