The Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival has made its way back from the brink of cancellation, but organisers fear the 2025 event could end up in the red once again.
A key event on the Australian jazz calendar, financial pressures meant the 2023 Wangaratta festival was expected to be the last, but a massive effort by the town in Victoria's northeast saw it return to make a surplus in 2024.
It's one of dozens of live music events contending with increased costs and last-minute ticket sales.
The event relies heavily on volunteers and donations.
More than half a dozen applications to state and federal government funding bodies to support the 2025 program had been knocked back, said festival board chair Andrew Nunn.
But the local businessman doesn't want anyone attending out of pity.
"We've just got to put on a fun festival that people want to come to," he said.
"We want them to build a positive relationship with the festival, and then just keep coming."
It's hard to overstate the importance of the more than three-decade-old festival for Wangaratta, and Australia's jazz and blues scene.
It's a boost for local business and a pathway for musicians who often go on to perform at other live music events around Australia and worldwide, festival director Serge Carnovale says.
"It really has played an important part for up-and-coming artists, and established artists in Australia and beyond," said Carnovale, who runs Melbourne's Paris Cat Jazz Club.
The four-day program for 2025 includes Australian vocalist Emma Pask, First Nations saxophonist Marlene Cummins, The Black Jesus Experience, the Nicki Parrott Trio and three-time ARIA winner Jeff Lang.
International guests include saxophonist Alexander "the Hurricane" Beets, guitarist Tom Ollendorff, and Paris-based Leigh Barker.
The festival also hosts the 35th National Jazz Awards, which this year features brass, with six finalists vying for $12,000 in prize money.
The festival board has made some tough calls to keep the event running: free gigs and weekend passes were nixed in 2024, while this year most venues are walking distance from each other.
"We think it is going to make a huge difference, because now, when you walk out of any of the venues you're going to be hit in the face with 1000 people looking at this big stage," said Nunn.
Organisers have also bought a sound system that will be used for several smaller gigs on the program, and locals with skills in sound engineering are volunteering their time across the long weekend.
However the finances look at the end of the festival, organisers are aiming to raise $300,000 over the next three years to ensure the event's long-term future.
The Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival runs until Monday.
