Two international acts have pulled out of Australia’s Good Things music festival days before it was slated to kick off in Melbourne.
American rock band The All-American Rejects and American hardcore punk band Knocked Loose both cancelled their scheduled appearances due to family emergencies.
Both bands were supposed to play all three Good Things shows on December 5 in Melbourne, December 6 in Sydney, and December 7 in Brisbane.
Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects, which has pulled out of several Australian shows last minute. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Liv)
“We’re heartbroken to share that due to a sudden family loss, we won’t be able to make it to Australia as planned,” The All-American Rejects said in a statement on the Good Things website.
“This has been an incredibly difficult moment for us, and as much as it devastates us to miss such a great opportunity to reconnect with our Australian fans, family has to come first.”
The band last toured Australia in 2009 and promised to return as soon as possible.
Knocked Loose also provided a statement which read, “We’re very sorry to everyone but we have to cancel our Australia trip, including the Good Things Festival and our headline shows around it.
“Anyone familiar with this band knows we do not take cancelling shows lightly; but family will always come first.”
American hardcore punk band Knocked Loose apologised but said they had to put family first. (Bryan Steffy/Getty)
The hardcore band, which last played in Australia in 2023 at Knotfest music festival, is already planning to return.
Both bands were also scheduled to play additional headline side shows separate to the festival dates.
The All-American Rejects were supposed to perform in Melbourne, and Knocked Loose had headline shows planned for Sydney and Melbourne.
These shows have now been cancelled and ticketholders will be refunded.
Ticketing platforms have contacted ticketholders directly about the cancellations.
Good Things ticketholders will not be offered refunds.
A screenshot of the email sent to a ticketholder for the Sydney Knocked Loose headline show. (Supplied)
The 11-date metalcore festival was supposed to kick off in February 2026 with Australian band Parkway Drive headlining.
It was cancelled yesterday due to “rising costs”.
