Stereosonic Might Be Canceled Permanently

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Thu April 07, 2016 | 00:00 AM


Add another fallen festival to the list of those canceled in 2016. Sydney-based newspaper The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Australia's Stereosonic festival – which happens to be one of the largest dance music fests in the country – is apparently not happening this year, or possibly ever again.

Via Dancing Astronaut (which accessed the article despite the Telegraph's subscribers-only paywall), the latest info says the festival's embattled parent company SFX Entertainment (which also run now-canceled TomorrowWorld) and its promoters Totem OneLove were likely inspired to cancel the festival following two deaths at this year's event.

Stereosonic 2010 Ryan Polei Creative Commons   26

The article reports that the festival's founder, Frank Cotela, and Stereosonic cofounder Richie McNeill might cash in on Stereosonic’s demise by creating a new venture. But regarding a new festival in the works, Cotela told The Daily Telegraph: “Not at this stage, no. Maybe in the future I will do something, but at this stage there is nothing on the go.”

Though SFX Entertainment has filed for bankruptcy already this year, Totem OneLove is apparently cash-flow positive. With this tidbit of information, the Australian festival community can only hope Totem OneLove might create an amazing new festival from the ashes of Stereosonic.