The Fresh Ayr folk festival has been postponed for a year after a plea for fans to buy advanced tickets fell short.

The organisers of the new event, which was due to be held at Rozelle Park on August 11-13, had lined up more than 30 acts, including some big names in the folk world.

But last week, they revealed that unless there was a surge in advance ticket sales over the next few days, the whole event would be cancelled until 2024.

In a statement issue today, the organisers said: "We can’t thank everyone enough for their support this weekend but unfortunately, although ticket sales were strong, we didn’t hit our target to enable us to go ahead in 2023. 

"As a brand new festival we were heartened to see the support and passion for our event.

"It gives us fantastic confidence that we can bring this world-class festival to you next year.

"The planning for 2024 is already underway but with time and the learnings we have taken from this year we are confident that we will be able to put on an even better festival offering next year and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to Ayr next August. 

"We would like to thank the artists who have already agreed to reschedule to next year too, we are really looking forward to seeing these incredible musicians on the Ayr stage. 

"If you can, please continue to support us by rolling your tickets over to next year. We will confirm dates for 2024 in the coming weeks.

"There is also the option of a ticket refund. Please fill out this form to confirm your choice: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScztRh4bMi8oB_PNgEWfgoZQEyg4d2YI9nooy0dTGAocoLSGg/viewform?pli=1

"Those who carry their booking over to next year will receive a free Fresh Ayr t-shirt.

"Refunds will take 5-10 business days to reach your account. The refund window will close on Monday, August 14 at noon. 

"From the bottom of our hearts thank you so much for buying tickets and for showing your support, we’re excited to see you in 2024."

The organisers had described the ticket alert as "setting a deadline of optimism".

In a statement issued on Friday, they said: "For the last three years we have been working towards a fresh new festival for the town of Ayr, the first of its kind and an injection of creativity for the local area. 

"We have booked some of the best bands on the national music scene and worked tirelessly to bring an exciting and bespoke festival experience to the town. 

"We fully understand the rise of living costs for everyone during this time and there are always risks putting on a new event.

"We have worked to mitigate risk wherever possible and we are close to making this happen – we are so close to meeting our margins and we are so close to being able to deliver but we are now looking for an investment from you – both financially and emotionally.

"We have an incredible weekend planned so please rally your friends and families, your fellow music lovers and everyone who you would like to attend this fantastic event with and invest in the future of Scotland’s cultural scene and the future of world-class music in Ayr."

Artists lined up for the Rozelle event included Talisk, Gnoss, Nati Dredd, the Alistair McCullock Trio, Sean Gray, Manran, Kinnaris Quinter, Paul McKenna Band, Blazing Fiddles, Siobhan Miller Band and many more.