​“The pressure is too great”: Cosmic Roots calls off 2024 edition

Boutique UK festival Cosmic Roots has cancelled its 2024 edition, citing low ticket sales and financial problems amid rising production costs.

The three-day event was due to go ahead from September 5 – 8, 2024, bringing its fourth edition back to The Copse in Basingstoke, close to London.

“Due to unpredictable ticket sales and a rise in production costs this year, the pressure on our independently funded festival is simply too great,” the festival announced on Instagram on Friday (August 16).

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Cosmic Roots spoke about the challenges faced by many festivals in 2024 amid the cost of living crisis, explaining: “The shifting landscape has made it incredibly difficult to navigate, and despite our best efforts, it’s left us unable to move forward with the festival this year.”

They added that they haven’t “taken the decision lightly”, but the “reality of the situation” made it difficult to go ahead with the festival as planned. The festival thanked those who had purchased tickets for this year’s edition and explained that refunds would be issued in due course.

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“You are the reason we had enough hope to get this far down the line in a tricky climate,” they said. “We’re sorry it wasn’t meant to be.”

The line-up for Cosmic Roots 2024 featured the likes of Jay Carder, Mor Elian, Lukas Wigflex, Donna Leake, and more. Just over 2,000 people attend the festival each year.

The festival confirmed that this is “not the end for Cosmic Roots”, and that they’ll take some time to figure out the next steps. “It’s tough out there for smaller independent festivals,” they said.

Read the full statement from Cosmic Roots here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter