Squamish Cancelled for 2016: Has the Bubble Finally Burst?

Has the bubble finally burst? That’s the question on everyone’s mind this week as the dance community was dealt another massive low-blow as the organizers behind Squamish Valley Music Festival announced the cancellation of their 2016 event.

For those who are counting, that makes three major festivals that have been cancelled so far this year. Wakarusa, Tomorrowworld, and now Squamish. Although all three seem to have been canceled for different reasons, there’s a bigger question that remains on everyone’s mind – is this just a coincidence or have we reached the point where the wave finally broke?

Could the news out of Squamish be the result of government fingers getting a little too sticky? Not likely, as they understand the economic benefits of hosting such an enormous event. One that brought in over $30 million to the Squamish region in 2015 alone. Perhaps the ever falling Canadian dollar has proven to be too much of an obstacle to book the international acts that make up a large portion of the lineup.

Regardless, the biggest music festival in Canada was just cancelled for 2016. And although this may not be the end of the road, it definitely leaves us with some questions about the future.

Could this be the future of the Squamish Valley Music Festival?

Like so many popularity contests that came before it, the proverbial pop of the festival bubble is bound to happen eventually, it’s just a matter of when. Just like what’s currently happening within the vinyl industry, or what happened to pogs in the 90’s, as the demand for festivals rises the market will become over-saturated. And while everyone tries to cash in on what may be one of the more fun, albeit stressful, industries in the world, we’ve reached a point where that simply may no longer be possible.

It all boils down to a matter of supply and demand. When competing festivals are drawing artists from the same talent pool, the events that get more praise, and therefore returning attendees, are usually the ones that end up booking the very headliner organizers were competing over. There is only one Bassnectar in the world and although some people view him as a trans-dimensional being, technically he can only be in one place at the same time.