KIAMA JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PAUSE FOR 2026

Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival

Press Release

11th December 2025

It is with great sadness, and only after months of exploring every possible option, that we announce the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival will not proceed in March 2026. This is not a decision we have made lightly. Despite exhausting all available avenues, the Festival is unable to move forward with confidence under the current constraints.

We have reached the point in our planning cycle where commitments to artists, venues and partners must be made. A combination of factors has made it impossible to deliver the Festival to the standard and integrity our community deserves, including:

• Significantly reduced financial support

• The financial risk of a ticketed model

• Capacity restrictions at a key central venue

• Ongoing delays in Kiama Council development approvals

• The long lead time before the Special Entertainment Precinct comes into effect

In recent years, the support and partnership with the performance space at Fillmore’s has enabled the Festival to become financially viable while providing a central Festival Hub. This hub has offered significant cultural and financial value, markedly strengthening the Festival’s overall viability.

As many will be aware, for Fillmore’s to secure itself as a permanent performance space, Kiama Council took legal action alongside requiring the venue to lodge a Development Application. Fillmore’s engaged consultants in August 2024, and the DA was submitted in May 2025. As of today, Kiama Municipal Council has provided no timeframe for determining this application—an outcome that would finally secure Fillmore’s future in our community. Both the Festival and the owners of Fillmore’s have continued to apply pressure on Council for a determination, knowing that KJBF 2026 heavily depends upon it. Last week, the only interim solution offered was the submission of a Temporary Use DA for the planning team to assess while the main DA remains undecided.

These pressures collectively create an environment in which the Festival cannot operate responsibly or sustainably in 2026.

For nearly four decades, the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival has brought our town alive—connecting local businesses, welcoming visitors, championing original Australian music, and creating moments of joy, cultural pride and community spirit in every corner of Kiama. We remain deeply grateful to the musicians, venues, volunteers, local organisations and loyal audiences who help weave this magic each year.

While this pause is heartbreaking, it is also temporary. Our focus now turns to 2027—the Festival’s 40th anniversary - with the aim of returning stronger, more stable, and with the creative spark that Kiama knows and loves. We are committed to protecting the Festival’s legacy and ensuring it thrives for decades to come.

Thank you to everyone who continues to believe in the power of live music and in the essential role this Festival plays in the cultural life of our community. We hope to bring the music back to Kiama in 2027 with renewed energy and a celebration worthy of this milestone year.

Beck Guggisberg

Festival Director

Kiama Jazz and Blues Festival