The long-running Treasure Island Music Festival in Northern California will not be returning for 2019. Festival organizers announced in a press release on August 5th that the festival is “on hiatus for the foreseeable future”.
The two-day festival originally called a man-made island, in the San Francisco Bay, it’s home starting in 2007. The island, located between Oakland and San Francisco, was built for the 1939 World Fair.
Trouble began in 2017 when Treasure Island Fest had to go on hiatus due to construction on the island. In 2018, the festival returned and relocated to Oakland’s Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. In addition to Treasure Island, the park hosted Porter Robinson‘s inaugural Second Sky Music Festival.
After a successful 2018, organizers encountered more issues in July of this year. The Port of Oakland received a cease and desist from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission arguing that the Port did not have permission to stage the festival’s events at the new location.
Due to the ongoing location issues, Treasure Island Music Festival felt that a 2019 event would not hold up to previous standards.
“Bringing the festival back to life last year following the relocation was a massive undertaking, but with the new issues facing the site location, we feel strongly as though putting on a festival to the degree for which our fans have come to expect over the past decade is simply not possible.”
While it’s hard to see Treasure Island Fest not return, the Bay Area festival space is far from empty. The press release concludes by giving support to other festivals including Outside Lands and Noise Pop Festival.
In years past Treasure Island Fest lineups have included a slew of electronic artists. Among those who have performed at the festival are Deadmau5, ZHU, Zedd, and STS9.