Esoteric Festival goes bust after 2025 event cancelled at last minute

The organiser of Esoteric Festival, whose last event was cancelled the night before it was due to begin, has placed the company behind the event into administration.

The organiser of a controversial bush doof whose most recent event was cancelled the night before it was due to begin has placed its key corporate vehicle into administration.

Esoteric Festival, which trades as Esothreads, filed for insolvency on Wednesday.

Its 2025 event, scheduled to run near Donald in northwest Victoria over the Labour Day long weekend, was canned by the council at the last minute when about 2000 revellers had already arrived.

Esoteric organiser Sam Goldsmith — the director of the Esoteric Festival company — branded the cancellation “bureaucracy and politics gone mad” and said it handed his company a $2m loss.

The key company behind Esoteric Festival has been placed into administration. Picture: Supplied

The 2025 event was cancelled when thousands of revellers had already arrived. Picture: 7News

Worrells principals Scott Andersen and Nathan Deppeler have been appointed administrators.

The duo have warned the festival, which has run since 2017, faces an uncertain future.

“In the event there is no interest from any party to propose a Deed of Company Arrangement to restructure the company or purchase the business, the company will not be in a position to hold further festivals,” the pair wrote in a report.

The embattled festival was hit with a number of issues in recent years.

This included a gastro outbreak in 2024, followed by the eleventh-hour closure in 2025 made after the Buloke Shire council’s municipal building surveyor refused to grant an occupancy permit.

The denial came despite councillors voting to give the festival the go ahead following some initial apprehension in the months leading up to the event.

Festivalgoers are waiting on refunds. Picture: Supplied

The festival last month told ticketholders that refunds were still being processed.

“To those waiting on a response from us via our inboxes, we are not ignoring you,” the statement said.

“We are working with a team of passionate staff who are volunteering their time whilst we rebuild and it’s taking a lot of time to respond to the thousands of questions that are being sent to our inboxes, but we are here for it and slowly making our way to everyone.

“We’re also laying down some new foundations internally for improvement, continuing positive talks with council and stakeholders, applying for grants, fundraising, bringing in additional specialists to assist our permit planning team, all of this is currently happening at once whilst we prepare a string of fundraiser events and satellite parties coming your way soon to keep the spirit of Esoteric alive in all our lives.”

Further refunds are now in the hands of administrators.

Esoteric joins other popular multi-day festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo to suffer cancellations, reflecting a trend of economic uncertainty and hardship for the live entertainment industry in Australia.