Australia’s Grass Is Greener music festival officially enters liquidation after a tumultuous 2022 marred by cancellations.
Australian music festival Grass Is Greener has officially entered liquidation (bankruptcy here in the US) after facing numerous issues and cancellations in 2022. Even with successful events in October last year, the last-minute cancellation of two events in Canberra and Geelong left the festival and its organizer reeling.
Events were still planned throughout October, with multiple events in Canberra, Cairns, Geelong, and the Gold Coast, despite the festival and its organizer struggling throughout the year. But even with successful events in Cairns and the Gold Coast, the short-notice cancellation of the Canberra and Geelong events may have served as the final nail in the festival’s coffin. Event organizer Hand Picked Events and Marketing also entered liquidation on July 17.
The Geelong and Canberra events due to take place in October 2022 were canceled primarily due to significant artists pulling out just weeks beforehand. Headliners Ty Dolla $ign, ZHU, Maya Jane Coles, and ONEFOUR all reportedly withdrew their support due to festival organizers running into financial issues.
“We are sad to announce we are no longer able to perform at The Grass Is Greener Festival 2022,” read a post on ONEFOUR’s Instagram that has since been deleted. “After multiple attempts to work through many challenges with The Grass is Greener, they have failed to honor their obligations and cannot deliver the show we and our fans expect.”
Despite the issues, Grass Is Greener events still managed to take place in Australia’s Gold Coast and Cairns in 2022, with performances from artists like PNAU, Alok, Sticky Fingers, Waifa, Boo Seeka, YG, and more. Event organizer Hand Picked also said the Geelong and Canberra dates were canceled due to a combination of COVID, “cost blowout,” and weather issues that made the events “near impossible to run.”
Australia’s 7 News reports that BCR Advisory, a boutique corporate advisory, recovery, and insolvency firm, was appointed as liquidators on December 9, while Hand Picked officially entered liquidation on July 17.