Karratha's Red Country Music Festival cancelled due to COVID

Bradley Hall Band at last year’s Red Country Music Festival.

Karratha’s 2022 Red Country music festival, scheduled for Saturday June 4, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 risks.

Nyamal musician and festival director Bradley Hall has told Ngaarda Media it was a difficult decision to cancel the festival, but rising COVID case numbers and the planned border reopening have caused too much risk and uncertainty.

“The Arts industry in general is having that issue. There are a lot of big events, big festivals that have been canceled already this year,” he said.

Hall is concerned that COVID could cause serious issues in the Pilbara, especially once the borders reopen. 

“We just need to make sure we’re helping work together for the safety of the Pilbara,” he said.

“I think we need to look at vaccination rates and lifting them up, especially in the Pilbara, considering we're always hearing that it's quite low.”

The festival went ahead in 2021 after being cancelled in 2020.

Hall plans to keep himself busy by creating new music with his Bradley Hall Band.

“I’m working on a new album that hopefully I should have out by the middle of the year,” he said.

The Red Country Music Festival is now scheduled to next be held on June 3, 2023.