Local Lismore band, the Hussy Hicks, were shocked and saddened to hear the news that Bluesfest will be holdings it last music festival in 2025.

Festivals are so important for bands to be heard by a wider audience, helping live music to thrive. The loss of another great festival in the snowball effect of festivals disappearing makes it so much more difficult for musicians.

“It was a big shock, and it's very sad,” said Leesa, “It's the end of an era.”

Leesa and Julz, who are the Hussy Hicks, play music that is described as a blend of Folk, Blues, Country, Rock and Roots, and they have played at Bluesfest eight (8) times over the years. Leesa talked to the Lismore App on her way to a gig in France.

“We've been playing more and more festivals, which is a great way for us to win new fans and build our fan base. 

“Festivals, are the greatest opportunity to play in front of a big crowd, without the personal stress to sell tickets. Promoting your own shows is great, but it's a lot of work. 

“We've spent the whole start of the year doing a bunch of promoted shows because we've released a new record. That promo circuit is a lot of work.

“Festivals are wonderful. They have built an audience, big stages to big crowds. We try and play as many festivals as we can.”

(Playing to large crowds at Bluesfest. Image Credit: Hussy Hicks)

The music industry has been under considerable stress since Covid. But festivals have always been at the mercy of a range of factors.

“I think that the whole shakeup with COVID and all of the lockdowns have really affected the music industry in so many different ways. We're experiencing fallout from that now and will into the future as well.

“There's so much uncertainty with ticket sales and audiences buying habits. If you get enough promotion, then you could rely on a certain base level of bigger sales"

Things like weather can affect the big sale days before an event, as well as the turnout.

“We went through that crazy time where anything that was happening sold out immediately. And then there were more lockdowns and more uncertainty. Not only fans and promoters but audiences get sketchy about it as well. 

“There were three Bluesfests that were promoted that didn't happen.” 

Festivals like Bluesfest are successful due to their headliners.

(Playing at Bluesfest. Image credit: Hussy Hicks)

“It's important to have big headliners. That is what sells tickets, and events need to pay out these huge fees for international acts.

“When our economy is really strong, we noticed that there's a lot more international shows coming and touring in Australia.”

It’s all about maximising profits on tour.

“When we first played Bluesfest, Bob Dylan was the headliner. We were so excited. We got to play an event that Bob Dylan is also playing. 

“At that stage, very few people knew who we were. But we got to play in front of several thousand people who went passed the tent and popped it in to see what we were doing.

Will Hussy Hicks be playing Bluesfest this year?

Leesa says, “We always have our fingers crossed and have our hands firmly up. I don't know what Peter's going to do for the final edition. I imagine it's going to be epic. He always puts on a pretty killer lineup. 

“It's the end of the era, and we're going to be there regardless of whether we're playing or not.”

The Hussy Hicks have been on tour in Europe and Canada for over two months. They played their final gig of the tour in France on Saturday night and are close to returning home. 

If you want to see the Hussy Hicks locally, you will need to wait until November, “We're playing a show with Nathan Cavalieri at the Brunswick Picture House,” which they are looking forward to.  

Check out the Hussy Hicks at their website or on Facebook.