While there were complaints thrown around online about the Splendour in the Grass 2024 lineup, the general consensus in the Port News and Macleay Argus office was that the acts planned to headline the festival at the North Byron Parklands in July were worth going to see.

We had even talked about an office group road trip to see the likes of Kylie Minogue, Tash Sultana, Confidence Man, Arcade Fire, Girl in Red and The Kills live at Splendour.

However, forking out $400 for a three-day ticket or $180 for a single-day pass did put us off getting tickets. Adding on a camping fee or booking accommodation on top of the ticket prices also blew out the amount we were willing to pay.

The soaring price of running a large music event has been cited as making it increasingly difficult for the industry to operate and for the reason behind organisers cancelling this year's event.

I wasn't always a big fan of music festivals and I've never been to one of the bigger ones like Splendour or Groovin the Moo, but last year I went to Port Macquarie's Red Hot Summer Tour and Sip and Savour. I enjoyed both of these immensely.

While I didn't end up getting tickets to Red Hot Summer this year, it was great to see hundreds of people braving the wet weather in February to see the likes of Suzi Quatro, Cheap Trick and The Angels take to the stage right here in Port Macquarie.

While our editorial team didn't end up buying tickets to Splendour (and following its cancellation, we're glad we didn't), we'll be sticking closer to home and getting tickets for Ride the Sound Wave next weekend, which is held as part of Port Macquarie's annual Ride the Wave Festival.

The five-day festival raises money for local charity Make a Difference PMQ in advocating for the disadvantaged and marginalised members of the community.

The lineup for the music part of the festival is looking promising, with Xavier Rudd, The Dreggs and Emily Wurramara headlining.

It just shows that you don't have to travel to attend music festivals when we have local events attracting some pretty big names.

The cancellation of Splendour and Groovin the Moo earlier this year does make me wonder whether the future of big music festivals is hanging in the balance. It seems that people don't want to drop an exorbitant amount of money for festival tickets, but are willing to spend hundreds just to see their favourite artist in concert, ahem Taylor Swift.

We're just glad to have local music festivals to go to instead.

But we are hoping that Kylie announces a tour off the back of Splendour being cancelled, because all of us in our office will definitely be getting tickets to that concert.

Ruby Pascoe,

Senior Journalist