Last week, Tone Deaf reported on the warning that Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah issued to punters in Adelaide. Responding to a fan on Twitter, Maddah described ticket sales in the South Australian capital as “pathetic”, and claimed that it would be “the last Soundwave in Adelaide unless it picks up in a big way”.

It appears that Maddah’s worrying declaration has come to fruition. The festival founder confirmed last night that while ticket sales for the Adelaide leg of Soundwave 2015, which features a lineup of Slipknot, Faith No More, Soundgarden, and more, did improve, it was “nowhere near enough” to save the festival.

After one follower asked if the promoter would consider giving the troubled Adelaide leg “one last shot” with a return to a one-day format, Maddah replied simply, “We can’t bring a show of this magnitude down again for so few people. Sorry.” It’s not known how many tickets Soundwave Adelaide managed to sell.

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The future of the South Australian instalment of the popular hard rock festival has long been in doubt. As the event traditionally fell on the same weekend as popular events like the Clipsal 500, ticket sales often failed to meet expectations and logistical costs such as accommodation were increased significantly.

Festival organisers also experienced clashes with the local city council. Last year, Maddah claimed that council was attempting to kill the festival by turning the bureaucratic screws on organisers via the introduction of draconian noise management protocols.

With Adelaide now omitted from any future Soundwave instalments, the festival is now an East Coast exclusive. The city of Perth, where the festival originated, hosted its final Soundwave event last year. At the time, Maddah said that keeping Perth would have meant the end of the festival.

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Meanwhile, organisers continue to face frustrations and criticism from Victorian punters and even the government. As Tone Deaf reported yesterday, an email was sent out to Soundwave’s Melbourne punters over the weekend, confirming that this year’s event would not have a dedicated train line to the venue.

While organisers initially claimed that the government revoked the line, with Maddah calling Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews a “scumbag”, Public Transport Victoria and members of the state government, including Mr Andrews, have since claimed that the transport crisis is due to Soundwave’s own mismanagement.

An agreement has since been met, which will see the government providing extra shuttle busses for punters at no cost. However, many are still concerned as Soundwave clashes with several events happening in the CBD on Saturday, including White Night, the Cricket World Cup, an A-League match, the races, and a concert at Rod Laver Arena.

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