Goombungee Country organiser blames rival gig organised by Gold Coast Council for festival’s cancellation

The organiser of a new country music festival in the Toowoomba region has cancelled the event, blaming poor ticket sales on competition from a free, three day festival organised by the Gold Coast Council.

The organiser of Goombungee Country has announced the event will be cancelled.

The organiser of Goombungee Country, a new Toowoomba region music festival that was due to take the stage on Saturday, has vowed to refund all ticket sales after he was forced to cancel the event.

Andrew ‘Old Bull’ Humble said he had been planning the event for the past two years and was heartbroken knowing it would not happen.

“I am so sorry to the ticket holders, the sponsors and the supporters, it has been long road but I have had to make this decision,” he said.

“Everyone will get their refund, no one is going to be left out of pocket.

“I understand peoples’ frustration but this is not something I have done lightly.”

The event was due to be held at the Goombungee Showgrounds on Saturday, with Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys and Max Jackson set to headline.

Mr Humble said tickets were selling well until the Gold Coast Council set the dates for its free, three-day country music event, Groundwater CMF.

Held at Broadbeach, the event has dozens of country musicians and has been running for almost a decade.

Mr Humble said the Gold Coast event was proving more popular with the crucial 25-45-year-old demographic.

“We tried our best, we had a good line-up that the artists were promoting, but we just couldn’t push ticket sales past where we needed them to be,” he said.