Adelaide’s Harvest Rock Festival announces it won’t go ahead in 2026

A major Aussie music festival has shocked revellers by announcing it won’t be returning this year.

Harvest Rock Festival, which is held in Adelaide, has confirmed via its social media channels that it will be taking 2026 as a “fallow year”.

The event was headlined by New York rockers The Strokes and singer-songwriter Jelly Roll in 2025, with a line-up that also included the likes of Wolfmother, The War on Drugs and M.I.A.

Since its launch in 2022, the event has brought a host of big names to South Australia, including Jack White, Beck and Jamiroquai.

However, in an announcement posted on Friday evening, organisers announced there would be no event this summer.

“Harvest Rock will be taking a follow year in 2026,” the announcement reads.

“We know this will be disappointing news to many of you, but good things take time and we’re already working on future plans.

“We appreciate the ongoing support of the South Australian government in making the event a huge success to date and we look forward to partying with you soon.”

It is not the first time the festival has taken a year off.

In 2024, what was due to be the third edition of the event was abruptly postponed by organisers Secret Sounds, sparking fears it would not return.

However, its 2025 edition saw a record 38,000 revellers pack Rymill and King Rodney Parks.

It is not the first major music event to pull the plug in 2026.

Two months ago, Aussie DJ Fisher postponed his Out 2 Lunch music festival until 2026, blaming fuel shortages and rising cost of living.

The annual dance event was due to run from May 2 until May 10 across Melbourne, Gold Coast, Sydney and Perth.

But just three weeks before it was scheduled to go ahead, it was announced that it was taking a year off.

“We’d rather do this properly in 2027 than ask anything more of our fans right now,” a statement read.

The announcements comes as a latest blow to Australia’s entertainment sector, with touring theatre shows also suffering cancellations.

In recent weeks, plugs have been bulled on nationwide tours of both Beetlejuice the Musical and Waitress, owing to lower than expected ticket sales and rising costs.