A good number of festivals in this list have not been held since 2019. So how are we placed at the time of writing for 2022? As vaccination rates improve, it surely should be a better year for our much-loved live events.
Plenty of events posted dates but did not proceed and a lot of them turned into virtual events only. Other organisers tried to postpone until later in the year hoping for better times before doing the same thing. To illustrate, even though there were two-and-a-bit months COVID-free, over 20 per cent of all events did not even post 2021 dates with about half of those conceding at some point that their events were not proceeding. The former due to uncertainty of COVID situations in Australia and the latter because our international borders have been closed throughout. Most festivals beyond the global COVID outbreak in March 2020 have been thrown into disarray, not just because of hard-hit COVID host States (hello Victoria!) but also there has been such an interruption to interstate and overseas travel. Not that a great proportion of these have actually taken place in 2020 or 2021. This list of Australian events published on Listening Through The Lens has grown steadily and now, at the time of initial publication of this article, has hit the 400 mark. Festival organisers, artists, stage and lighting crews, booking agents, managers, vendors, kindly volunteers and more have had to bear the brunt of uncertainty to work within constantly moving local COVID rules as the pandemic wreaks havoc. Obviously, the past two years have been an horrendous time for live music and, worst still, festival gatherings with plenty of punters communally enjoying the thrill of the same experience projected from stages around the country. The exclamation used is for cheer, but a little forced. Welcome to the 2022 and FOURTH annual edition!
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