Soulfest 2015 has been cancelled

R&B and hip-hop festival Soulfest has been axed for 2015 due to "poor ticket sales".

"It is with a heavy heart and great regret that SoulFest International Australia advises that it has become necessary to cancel SoulFest 2015 and the subsequent sideshows, due to low ticket sales in Australia and New Zealand," reads a press release posted on the festival's Facebook page this morning.

The press release also states that if the festival had gone ahead as planned, the financial loss incurred would be "devastating".

Soulfest was due to kick off on Saturday, 24th October in Sydney's Domain, followed by Auckland, Melbourne and sideshows in Brisbane . It was set to feature a breadth of international big hitters such Mary J Blige, Lauren Hill and De La Soul.

You can read the full statement from Soulfest below:

It is with a heavy heart and great regret that Soulfest International advises that it has become necessary to cancel Soulfest and the subsequent sideshows, due to poor ticket sales. Soulfest was scheduled to take place in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney, with sideshows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, and was due to commence on October 20th.

Soulfest was launched with the intention of promoting genres of music that are often overlooked commercially in this country, specifically Neo-Soul, RnB and Hip-Hop, and Soulfest 2014 successfully delivered some of the most exciting talent within these genres. Despite a stellar line-up of artists and the best promotional endeavours on Soulfest’s behalf, the event has simply not received the support via ticket sales, and the financial loss that would be incurred by the event if it were to go ahead as planned would be devastating.

There have been many people working behind the scenes, including media partners, artists, sponsors, sub-contracted promoters, communication managers, agents and suppliers who live, breathe and support this incredible genre of music and have worked tirelessly to try and make this event a success. The promoter sincerely apologises to all involved who have dedicated 7 months of their lives to work on this festival, and to the supporters of the event who purchased tickets.