Councillor Reacts to Cancellation of Parkway Drive’s Park Waves Festival

Following the recent cancellation of Parkway Drive’s Park Waves festival, a local councillor has addressed the costs associated with hosting such events.

The touring event was scheduled to hit regional cities around Australia next February and March, including Queens Park in Toowoomba, before it was called off earlier this month.

In a statement posted to Facebook late last week, Tim McMahon, Councillor of Toowoomba Regional Council, expressed his disappointment at the festival’s axing.

“Whilst it was cancelled nation wide, some eyes are on Council making sure it wasn’t Council procedures that made it hard to do business here,” the statement reads.

“I can confirm that I looked into it with Council Staff this week and if you want to run a large event at Queens Park, this is what it will cost you:

Large scale event:

$8,192 per week OR $1,580 per day.

10k bond- paid back when you look after Queens Park and infrastructure.

$150 for keys

Any electricity used involved after event.

“So we are probably looking at 2k for a day event plus 10k bond. (At $250 per ticket that 8 tickets to cover council fees).

The post concluded: “Big gigs – stop here please! – but it’s a tough market.”

Parkway Drive said at the time that the cancellation of Park Waves feels like “a kick in the guts”.

“Another festival being crushed by the rising costs across our entertainment industry. It hurts to be another casualty in this chapter of the Australian music scene,” the band said.

“We’ve tried every possible option to keep this dream alive, but the reality of the circumstances won’t allow for it.”

Park Waves first launched in Germany last year, with Parkway Drive joined by acts like Fit For a King and Australian deathcore giants Thy Art Is Murder.

Speaking with Rolling Stone AU/NZ in July, frontman Winston McCall said it had been in the works for many years, and while launching it internationally was a big step, the band always wanted to bring it home.

“Being able to take it regional is really important,” McCall said. “This is the first Byron show we’ve been able to play in 12 years, because regional places, a lot of the time, they don’t have an entertainment centre to put on an arena-sized act. And if you don’t have that, you’re playing a 1000 cap club and thousands of people are missing out.”