Bass in the Domain postponed just six days from festival

The man behind a Hobart music festival sensationally postponed just six days before it was due to be held has spoken out. He says only one act won’t be able to make the new date – see who here.

Dylan Frost of Sticky Fingers performs during Splendour in the Grass 2016 on July 23, 2016 in Byron Bay, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

UPDATED: The boss of a Hobart music festival sensationally postponed just six days prior to its debut at Hobart’s Regatta Grounds has revealed only one act won’t make the new date.

Speculation had been rife that the decision by producer TLS Productions, headed up in Tasmania by director Pritesh Ranjitkar, to move Bass in the Domain from March 11 to April 15 was precipitated by the inclusion of polarising Sydney band Sticky Fingers.

However, Sticky Fingers, whose frontman, Dylan Frost, has been accused of verbally abusing Indigenous musician Thelma Plum in 2016 and was ejected from a pub two years later after a confrontation with a transsexual model, are expected to announce on social media on Tuesday night their commitment to Bass in the Domain, Mr Ranjitkar said.

TLS Productions director Pritesh Ranjitkar. Picture: Facebook

Last week, Sticky Fingers were pulled from the Bluesfest 2023 line-up after fellow acts King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Sampa the Great both withdrew in protest at their inclusion.

Festival director Peter Noble was especially keen to help rehabilitate the band from their past indiscretions – bassist Paddy Cornwall was guilty of affray in 2021 – but he was left ruing what he said was “cruelty and lack of compassion” towards the band.

Mr Ranjitkar said Bass in the Domain was now, proudly, the only Australian date for Sticky Fingers in the wake of their eight-date Europe/UK tour, six dates of which were sold out.

He revealed that only one act, Auckland rapper JessB, was unable to make the new date, due to a clashing United States tour. Mr Ranjitkar said he had a “few options” for JessB’s replacement.

Regarding the last-minute cancellation, Mr Ranjitkar said TLS “made this call last week”. He said he was unable to publicise the news until Monday night, once he got final approval from artists, suppliers and vendors.

Sticky Fingers frontman Dylan Frost performs for crowds at the 2015 Byron Bay Bluesfest in Tyagarah. Photo Marc Stapelberg / The Northern Star

Mr Ranjitkar claimed that the postponement was largely to do with concerns of bad weather in Hobart on Saturday.

“We were checking the weather constantly,” he said, expressing fear of “thundertorms and rain” on the day in question. The Bureau of Meteorology is currently forecasting cloudy weather, wind of up to 20km/h, and a chance of rain over 20 per cent of its Hobart forecast area.

EARLIER: Organisers of a new music festival that was to be held Saturday at Hobart’s Regatta Grounds and featured a controversial headliner has been sensationally postponed for five weeks.

Punters who purchased tickets to Bass in the Domain festival, originally slated for March 11 but now scheduled for April 15, have just six days to lodge a request for a refund if they can’t make the new date.

Festival producer TLS Solutions took to Bass in the Domain’s social media pages on Monday night to announce the postponement of the event, at which national heavyweights including Tyne-James Organ, The Delta Riggs and Sticky Fingers, recently booted from Byron Bay Bluesfest’s line-up due to past indiscretions involving frontman Dylan Frost, were to perform.

It expressed its “regret” for the postponement and conceded the news was “disappointing”.

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“Unfortunately, unforeseeable circumstances, like the potential for unfortunate weather, and things beyond our control have necessitated the change in schedule,” TLS said.

It said all tickets purchased for March 11 would be valid for the new April 15 date at the Regatta Grounds.

“We are confident that this new date will provide an exceptional concert experience for all fans,” TLS said.

For punters unable to make the new date, refund requests can be made – but only until 6pm on March 13.

TLS was less than clear about whether artists on the bill would still play on the new date.

“We guarantee that the wait will be worthwhile. We feel we’ve delivered an outstanding line-up of artists... and we are working tirelessly to ensure that the rescheduled date will exceed expectations,” it said.

TLS director Pritesh Ranjitkar did not return the Mercury’s call.

Whether all artists do in fact commit to playing the new date, in light of weeks of damaging headlines for Bluesfest and festival director Peter Noble over Sticky Fingers’ inclusion on its 2023 line-up, remains to be seen.

Frost, a diagnosed bipolar schizophrenic, was alleged by Indigenous musician Thelma Plum to have abused her at a Sydney pub in 2016. He was further alleged to have been ejected from a different Sydney venue in 2018 after become involved in an argument with a transgender model.

Noble was initially keen to support Sticky Fingers, despite the public backlash, but after top acts King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Sampa the Great both pulled themselves in protest, his hand was forced.

“I believe an attempt to victimise this man and his band in the circumstances is cruel and unforgiving. This cruelty and lack of compassion are foreign to my values, as is the attempt to suppress the band’s artistic expression,” Noble said.