Yours and Owls has been postponed to 2025 – but never fear, organisers will host a tenth anniversary shindig at the University of Wollongong in October. Photo: Ian Laidlaw, Yours and Owls.
It’s been a bumpy few years in the entertainment scene, but Ben Tillman is confident Yours and Owls can weather the storm and soar to new heights on the other side.
After years of pandemic- and disaster-induced cancellations hopes were high the event would return to regular operations after a successful year in 2023.
Thanks to a three-year partnership with the University of Wollongong the two-day festival scored a secure location for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
But on Monday 8 July organisers announced the 2024 festival would not go ahead as usual in October, and would instead run in early 2025, with dates and acts yet to be confirmed.
Instead, Yours and Owls will mark its tenth year with the pared-back 10th Birthday Pre-Party, an evening event from 2 pm on 12 October.
Organiser Ben Tillman said the move was due to difficulties booking headline acts and there was no danger of the beloved festival going the way of Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo and Falls Festival.
“There is a lot of turbulence in festival space right now, with rising costs and specifically the lack of headliner talent availability in the tail end of 2024,” Ben said.
“Moving the main festival to early 2025 gives us a better shot at pulling off something we are 100 per cent happy with to celebrate our tenth year.
“We have no external pressures influencing this decision.
“We are doing what we feel is best for us as a company, as well as giving the punters a little good news also.
“We have celebrated ‘Gong Christmas in October each year and we didn’t want to miss that, so we are throwing a tenth birthday pre-party to mark both occasions.”
The tenth birthday line-up is made up of previous Yours and Owls performers, including Golden Features, Peking Duk, Alice Ivy, Hellcat Speedracer and Ninajirachi.
The 10th Birthday Pre-Party will be held in the University of Wollongong Gardens – a site Ben said had pushed the festival to new heights in 2023.
“2023 was by far our best event to date,” he said.
“The new site at UOW, our line-up and just overall vibe was electric.
“We are confident with our offering and approaching our tenth festival with a cautious strategy to ensure we get the best outcome for our patrons and the business.”
Pre-sale tickets for the Yours and Owls 10th Birthday Pre-Party go on sale at 8:30 am, Wednesday 10 July. General tickets are on sale 8:30 am, Thursday 11 July here.
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