Venue announcement & a tribute to Solbar

It is with a heavy heart that Horizon Festival responds to the news of Solbar's permanent closure. For over two decades, Solbar was more than a venue. It was the beating heart of live music on the Sunshine Coast, a place where local artists took their first steps on stage, where careers were born, and where our community came together around the music that defines us.

Horizon Festival was proud to count Solbar as a valued partner, and we had been looking forward to working together again this year. We shared a belief that this region deserves a thriving, ambitious cultural life: that the Sunshine Coast is not just a beautiful place to live, but a place where artists can genuinely build careers and where audiences can access world-class live experiences. Solbar embodied that belief every single week.

The closure of Solbar, coming so soon after the loss of The Station, is a sobering reminder of the fragility of our live music ecosystem. Independent grassroots venues are the foundation of everything: they are where artists develop, where audiences discover, and where culture takes root. When we lose them, we lose something that cannot easily be replaced.

With the sudden and unexpected closure of Solbar, Horizon Festival has unfortunately not able to secure a venue that would do BIG NOTER justice this year. We’re very hopeful we can welcome them to Horizon in the future.

All other artists and acts have been successfully placed in the following alternative venues:

Helios - Maleny Community Centre, Maleny
The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave – Frankx Studio, Warana
Jem Cassar-Daley – The MET, Maroochydore
Danny Widdicombe & The Wand’rin’ Stars – The MET, Maroochydore
The Umbilical Brothers - Maleny Community Centre, Maleny
The Song Shed - The MET, Maroochydore

Horizon Festival remains absolutely committed to championing grassroots live music on the Sunshine Coast. We will continue to create platforms for local and emerging artists, to invest in the cultural life of this region, and to advocate loudly for the conditions that allow independent music and arts to thrive. We owe that much to every artist who ever played the Solbar stage, and to every team member who gave so much of themselves to keep the music going.

To Alex, Dimi, Katie, Melissa, and the entire Solbar family: thank you. Your legacy lives on in every artist whose career began under your roof.

The music will continue.