Inner Varnika Festival Won’t Be Returning In 2024
"With ten years gone by we say farewell with one last thump.”
Ahead of their 2023 event kicking off from April 7th through to April 9th 2023, festival directors for Inner Varnika have announced that this year’s festival will officially be its last.
The festival is a three-day event dedicated to devoted music enthusiasts and artists that takes place three hours from Melbourne in Djagurd Wurrung Country, with this year’s event set to see headline performances from Donato Dozzy, DJ Sprinkles and Flo Dill, and many more.
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The news that the festival was closing its doors after this year was announced on March 16 via Instagram alongside a caption that read: “Like music, life is not linear but cyclical. The cycle we’ve been on is nearing its end/beginning. With ten years gone by we say farewell with one last thump.”
The statement continued: "Inner Varnika has been part of us for ten years, it's been a pivotal part of our lives and for many who attend every year."
"When we set out a decade ago, we aimed to create a space that didn't really exist yet: the small-scale, independent, community-centric, DIY-type of festival that is purely about exceptional music and freedom of expression."
They continued: "Now, we're part of a large and growing ecosystem of such events and that's something we're proud to have been a small part of authoring. “
“But we feel ten years is a milestone, a marker and a good opportunity to step back, take stock and allow some time and space to explore new things. We're not sure what comes next, but what we do know is there won't be an Inner Varnika next year."
On March 17, festival co-founders Glyn Hill and Louis McCoy spoke to Triple R’s Woody McDonald to reflect on the iconic festival, revealing it was inspired by international festivals like Freerotation in Wales and Labyrinth festival in Japan.
“We carved out a little niche of how we wanted to do things. Having a single stage, mainly local lineup, and just really concentrating on good sound and good music. A lot of other people really, kind of, got down with that,” they explained.
It’s just the latest in a string of cancelled festivals of late, with Strawberry Fields, 2 Degrees and Tabula Rasa all seeing late-minute cancellations with reasons ranging from extreme weather to poor ticket sales.
The final Inner Varniak event will kick off Friday, 7th–Sunday, 9th April at Djagurd Wurrung Country VIC.
Tickets are on sale here.
See the full statement from Inner Varnika festival directors here.
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