Australia’s newest music festival proves Aussies are hungrier for music than ever!

Having wrapped up five awesome inaugural events in just nine days, NEXT EXIT Festival - the latest edition to Australia’s music festival circuit - has just finished up its first multi-date tour, setting an extremely high bar for the next wave of boutique music festivals in Australia, and proving that punters are as hungry for live music as ever!

Taking place over two weekends, across Tamworth, Port Macquarie, Batemans Bay, Gosford and Mudgee, NEXT EXIT Festival welcomed over 11,000 attendeesthrough the gates, and generated over $1,500,000; all going directly back into the entertainment and events industry to artists, crew, production and local suppliers who have been largely sidelined for the past 15 months, as the live music industry has continued to be massively impacted by the pandemic.

"I knew it was going to be a great tour from the moment I arrived on site at our first show in Tamworth," said Scott Mesiti, TEG MJR’s Head Of Touring for Australia."There was a buzz that we were back! While the events operate a bit differently, the same sense of satisfaction came show after show. Speaking to artists, crew and site staff, most have been out of work for over a year and Next Exit was the first show for many of them. We’ve also been inundated with messages from punters who were incredibly thankful for bringing the event to their hometown. It’s good to be back!"

With punters flocking in from all parts of the country, NEXT EXIT Festival provided a much-needed economic injection for each regional town, across cafes, accommodation, tourist attractions and for local workers, from stage crew to tech crew to local vendors. The ability to deliver this support to several towns across NSW was made possible by NEXT EXIT Festival’s successful application for RISE funding.

"We would like to thank the Arts Department of the Federal Government for awarding RISE funding to NEXT Exit Festival," said Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG. "The grant allowed MJR Presents to deliver an affordable music festival for regional communities, bringing significant economic benefits and plenty of joy."

The events were a huge morale boost to the artists that performed, providing one of the few opportunities to play to an audience in more than 15 months.

"We had a blast touring with Next Exit festival," said Mitch Galbraith of headliners Ocean Alley. "All of the locations delivered more than they promised. There were beautiful sunsets and crisp nights with a great lineup of Aussie artists. It’s awesome to see a festival like this touring around NSW and engaging with so many locals as well as people who had travelled all the way from the city. We had a great time meeting and working with new friends and were stoked to see how keen the crowds were in every location."

Galbraith added: "It's been so important for the music industry to get back to some form of normal operation for all the vendors, hire companies, stage crew and staff. Next Exit has been that opportunity and everything felt really positive with everyone doing their best to help get back to safer times and more amazing music."

In late 2019 and early 2020, New South Wales was subject to some of the worst bushfires in Australian history. As of 28 January 2020, the fires in NSW had burnt 5.3 million hectares (6.7% of the State), including 2.7 million hectares in national parks (37% of the State's national park estate), and were responsible for countless millions of dollars in losses to businesses.

While the original concept for NEXT EXIT Festival was to help bushfire-affected towns, regenerate tourism and hire as many local suppliers as possible, subsequent challenges issues, including floods and the global pandemic meant that the festival stood for so much more, particularly in remote areas.