“We Are Asking For Your Support”: One Of Australia’s Iconic Festivals Is In Danger Of Dying
"The reality of cancelling Hyper is dawning upon us."
Hyper Fest, one of Western Australia’s staple music festivals, has publicly asked punters to buy tickets this week — or risk seeing the festival be cancelled just weeks out.
In a Facebook post made last night, the all-volunteer Hyper team have candidly revealed that this year’s second edition of the festival is dangerously underperforming in ticket sales.
Slated to be held on December 8 at Midland Oval, Hyper is headlined by DZ Deathrays, and features, among more home-grown talent, the likes of Polish Club, Kira Puru, Mosquito Coast, Eilish Gilligan and Ruby Fields.
“All of us at Hyper are extraordinarily proud of the event we’ve organised for this December,” it begins. “Sadly, ticket sales aren’t reflecting the amount of time and effort our team has put into organising this festival.
“As volunteers, music-lovers, and members of the Western Australian music scene, we are asking for your support to see this festival come into fruition.”
Hyper is the biggest all ages festival in WA. It would mark the first time the festival has been cancelled since its inception in 2002.
“The reality of cancelling Hyper is dawning upon us…. Over the next week if we are unable to boost our ticket sales, we’ll be forced to cancel Hyper for this year…Rather than waiting out the next week and hoping for the best, we’re asking for your help.”
Hyper is also volunteer run, and its ticket prices sit just below $50 due to a variety of community sponsors. As Pilerats editor Hayden Davies tweeted, the festival is a rare opportunity for young Western Australians to see live music. Read the full statement below.
Literally, aside from Vanessa Amorosi (lol), the first ever Australian acts I ever saw live were people like Art Vs Science and Architecture In Helsinki at @HyperFestival and I honestly don't know if I'd have the same obsession with live music if it wasn't events like that
— Hayden Davies (@haydendavies) November 13, 2018
In the post, Hyper has confirmed that ticket holders will receive full refunds if the event is cancelled.
You can buy tickets here.
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Statement From Hyper Festival
All of us at Hyper are extraordinarily proud of the event we’ve organised for this December.
Sadly, ticket sales aren’t reflecting the amount of time and effort our team has put into organising this festival.
As volunteers, music-lovers, and members of the Western Australian music scene, we are asking for your support to see this festival come into fruition.
We feel as the only All Ages festival of this size in WA, that it’s important for Hyper to happen. Whether it is as people’s first festival experience or first time performing to a large crowd, Hyper has always been at the forefront for pushing new music to new ears.
With all this being said, the reality of cancelling Hyper is dawning upon us.
Over the next week if we are unable to boost our ticket sales, we’ll be forced to cancel Hyper for this year. We’ve been in discussion with Moshtix and if we do need to cancel, every person who’s bought a ticket will receive a full refund. However, that’s a last resort.
Rather than waiting out the next week and hoping for the best, we’re asking for your help.
If you’ve been hovering over the “buy now” button, or holding out on a mate to get their ticket, now’s the time to commit.
As a festival that’s run by volunteers we don’t put on Hyper for financial gain. Instead, we do this out of a love for music and a passion for introducing people, of all ages, to what could be their new favourite band.
We understand that festival line-ups don’t appeal to everyone, and that every festival has a little negativity thrown their way. But regardless of your musical preferences, we ask that you please remain positive and respectful at this time. As festival organisers we’re understandably under a lot of stress right now, so please help us remain enthusiastic and optimistic.
If you have any constructive feedback that you want to share, please feel free to email [email protected]
Other than that, if you’re someone who’s attended Hyper before and had a good time; whether you made a new mate, discovered a new favourite band, or just enjoyed the vibe of the festival, feel free to voice your positive experiences, comment a photo, or share this post.
To those who give us their support year after year, we can’t express how grateful we are.
We will continue to do everything we can to make this year’s festival happen, and will continue to keep you updated over the weeks to come!
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Feature image by Josh Ludlow via the Hyper Fest Facebook page.