Punters at 'Splendour in the Grass' are being urged to turn up today after the day #1 of the music festival was cancelled due to wet and muddy conditions.  

Hundreds of people who turned up on the first day of the three-day event on Friday found themselves stuck in a car queue of up to eight hours to get in, only to be met with flooded campgrounds.

Organisers made the call to cancel the main stage acts early in the afternoon, as more heavy rain was forecast.

Held at the North Byron Parklands in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region, festival co-founder Jessica Ducrou said it had been the "worst weather" the festival had experienced in its 21-year history.

"We've had muddy events before, it's not new to us, but I think the amount of rain that the Northern Rivers has received over the past six months has made it very difficult," she said.

Despite Friday's washout, Ms Ducrou was confident Saturday's line-up would proceed and said those with tickets should "absolutely" turn up.

"Bring your gumboots," she said.

"Everyone's working as hard as they can to make this an experience they deserve, but it is very challenging conditions."

This is the first time the festival has gone ahead since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019 and nothing was going to stop some artists from making last-minute appearances at venues around Byron Bay last night.

After a turbulent couple of days for ticketholders, there have been mixed reactions to a statement from Splendour in the Grass on social media.

Some ticket holders who were refused entry to the festival yesterday are expressing frustration over the lack of communication from event organisers.

Others are expressing concern about what the one-day cancellation means for festival operators and the music industry.

While rain was forecast to continue overnight through to Saturday morning, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Christie Johnson said showers were expected to become more isolated today and should mostly clear up by Sunday.

"There may be the odd burst of heavier rainfall depending on the exact movement of the low but, in general, rainfall totals are likely to be pretty moderate," she said.

Ms Ducrou said everyone could be confident that the event was safe for patrons.

"We wouldn't still have people here if we didn't think it was safe," she said.

"We're just taking the opportunity to do any repairs that we can so that when we open the gates everyone can enjoy the next two days."

She said ticket holders would be refunded for missing Friday's events, after organisers cancelled all performances on the festival's main stages — Amphitheatre, Mix Up, GW McLennan and Park(lands).

Capacity at this year's Splendour, Australia's biggest music festival, increased from 40,000 to 50,000 and the music industry was ready to celebrate after being unable to stage the event over the past two years due to the pandemic.  

Original Story By | Lauren Pezet