The Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent, which was to have featured acts such as My Bloody Valentine, has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.
Promoter Vince Power, who has featured performers such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Morrissey as headliners in past years, said he had pulled the plug "with great sadness".
The event has been staged for five years on a Kent farm, but Power said the tough economic climate had proved too much this year.
Also due to play were The Horrors, Dinosaur Jr, Jimmy Cliff, The Cribs and Edwyn Collins.
Power said: "We have worked very hard to try to make it work but it has proved too much a of mountain to climb and despite fighting hard, circumstances are such that based on poor ticket sales and the forecast selling rate substantial losses would be made.
"It is a surprise for us that after eight weeks of heavy marketing and with such a great bill that we have to cancel, though we are convinced this does not reflect on the artists, it highlights the poor economic climate.
Power thanked the artists and everyone who had worked on the event.
And he added: "We would also thank the fans that have supported us over the past five years, it is with great sadness that the decision was made."
Ticket holders will be refunded.
