Edmonton Blues Festival producer Cam Hayden has announced that there will be no Festival in 2025.
“We are facing a dilemma that many festivals are being confronted with. Since the pandemic (when the festival lost considerable financial resources) costs have escalated to the point where we cannot continue. Economic challenges have increased across all aspects of the festival – production costs have increased by 40 to 60 per cent. Combined with decreasing sponsorship and lagging ticket sales as blues fans deal with these same economic pressures we are in a position where raising ticket prices to the level required to make our festival sustainable would also make it unavailable to many Blues Hounds.”
These challenges are not unique to the Edmonton Blues Festival. Many more festivals are facing this economic reality and closing their doors or scaling back significantly.
“We have also struggled with relocating.”, Hayden continued, “The city closed our home of 22 years, the Heritage Amphitheatre, for renovations. The stress faced by volunteers and staff setting up in a new location two years in a row coupled with the expectations of fans that have come to know and love the Amphitheatre as the incredible venue it is have made this decision to pause necessary”.
After consulting with stakeholders including patron groups, sponsors, our 12 volunteer crew coordinators representing 250 of the best volunteers anywhere, Explore Edmonton and the City of Edmonton the hard decision was made that we would pause until we can return to our home of 22 years at The Heritage Amphitheatre in 2026 .
We thank all of our faithful Blues Hounds and new Blues Pups for their patience and understanding as we rejuvenate and refresh the festival!
