Organizers have announced that there will be no Harbour Roots ‘n Blues Festival in 2026 citing financial challenges as the reason for the hiatus.
The festival began in 1994, and was originally called the Vancouver Island Blues Bash.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victoria Jazz Society rebranded the annual event to be called the Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival to make the event more inclusive of additional genres.
Notable artists who have played the festival include Shemekia Copeland, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Bywater Call, Fantastic Negrito, Alex Cuba and Wide Mouth Mason.
This year, the Victoria Jazz Society has revealed that financial constraints have forced them to pause the annual event.
“The loss of vital corporate sponsorships and increasing logistics, supplier and labour costs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have created a concerning financial situation for many BC festivals, and sadly, the Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival is among them,” wrote the Victoria Jazz Society in a media release.
In years past, the Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival took over Ship Point in Victoria’s Inner Harbour in August and has drawn out more than 20,000 attendees annually.
Though the event will not take place this year, the organizers say they hope to bring it back in 2027.
“We will take this hiatus year to reassess the Harbour Blues ‘n Roots Festival, seek new sponsors and other sources of funding, and plan to bring the festival back better than ever next year.”
This announcement follows the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group cancelling this year’s FernFest and the indefinite hiatus of the Great Canadian Beer Festival.
Furthermore, up-island, Laketown Rock and Laketown Shakedown have also been cancelled indefinitely.
