Two long-time music festivals will disappear from Ontario

Financial problems have knocked two well-known music festivals off the concert circuit, with one likely gone for good.

Riverfest Elora and the Sound of Music (SOM) in Burlington have both struggled to stay afloat, and this week, organizers of the Elora event said they are shutting down their festival permanently after 15 years.

Meanwhile, in Burlington, organizers of SOM are trying to regroup after politicians in that western GTA city turned down a financial request to keep the cash-strapped festival going. SOM has been held for 45 years.

The City of Burlington maintains it wants to have some kind of music event “in the spirit” of SOM at the lakefront next June, but those close to the situation believe it won’t have the same scope or extensive line-up of performers that made SOM the largest, free concert festival in Canada.

While those involved in SOM have been invited to submit a proposal, Burlington has put out a call to other groups to submit plans for a new event and has asked residents for feedback on whether continuing the festival is worth pursuing.

In both Elora and Burlington, attendance was never an issue as the festivals attracted solid crowds. Organizers say they could no longer keep up with the financial burden caused by the rising costs associated with presenting festivals with well-known acts.

For Elora, located about 14 km northwest of Guelph, the three-day Riverfest in August has been an artistic success since it was launched. The natural beauty of the village made a visit doubly enticing for tourists looking for more than just music, but the music was usually more than enough, as headlining acts over the years included Bruce Cockburn, Violent Femmes, Metric, The Flaming Lips, Alessia Cara, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. But those acts cost money and the losses started to mount. There have been no talk of trying to save Riverfest.

“Continuing to operate an unsustainable model would only deepen that burden beyond what we can responsibly bear,” read the statement posted by organizers of Riverfest Elora this week. “Sadly, this is not an isolated circumstance. Festivals across the country are facing these same pressures, with many struggling to survive in a rapidly shifting economic and cultural landscape.”

Indeed, SOM has fallen into the same predicament.

The four-day event that was centred at Spencer Smith Park attracts more than 400,000 people each year (although the city claims that number is inflated) and, along with Canada’s Largest Ribfest, put Burlington on the map as well as pumping millions of dollars into the local economy.

This year, the line-up of performers was Canadian and included Steven Page and David Wilcox. In the past, international acts such as the New York Dolls and Devo appeared as did major Canadian headliners Tom Cochrane, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kim Mitchell, Jacksoul, and Men Without Hats.

Typically, the City of Burlington provided SOM with $150,000 each year, but turned down a request for an additional $750,000 for it to continue in 2026.

Burlington is expected to reveal in January how it will proceed.