New Country Music Festival Longhaul Canceled in its First Year

The highly anticipated Longhaul Festival, poised to be Australia's newest major country music event, has been abruptly canceled just a month after its announcement for early 2027. The festival, a collaboration between TEG Live and featuring headliners Kacey Musgraves and Kane Brown, was slated to take place across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

The lineup boasted a strong international presence with artists like Charles Wesley Godwin, Margo Price, and James Barker Band, alongside a roster of emerging Australian talent including Beau Shearer and Tyla Rodrigues. However, TEG Live cited the current market conditions as the reason for the cancellation.

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Despite our excitement to bring this brand-new format to the market for fans, we have realised that unfortunately it's not the right time to launch a new country music festival in Australia.

A TEG spokesperson expressed disappointment, stating, "Despite our excitement to bring this brand-new format to the market for fans, we have realised that unfortunately it's not the right time to launch a new country music festival in Australia." The decision was made to cancel "sooner rather than later, to provide certainty to our valued fans and talented artists."

This cancellation comes on the heels of TEG cutting its country music touring department just six months after its formation, a move reportedly linked to cost-cutting measures. The demise of Longhaul Festival adds to a growing list of canceled or scaled-back events in Australia, including established festivals like Bluesfest and Splendour In The Grass, and newer ones such as Harvest Rock and Souled Out. Even the annual Laneway Festival is reducing its tour dates for 2027 due to logistical and cost pressures.

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We have made the difficult decision to cancel the festival sooner rather than later, to provide certainty to our valued fans and talented artists.