Groovin the Moo ditching Maitland for new beachside location

The travelling festival will be held in the city on Saturday, May 4 - the fourth in a seven-leg national tour which also includes Wayville, Canberra, Bendigo, Sunshine Coast, and Bunbury.

The line-up has not yet been made public.

City of Newcastle announced on Tuesday morning it had secured the deal for Foreshore Park, saying the concert was expected to attract about 25,000 punters.

Gloucester hosted Groovin the Moo during its first year in 2005 before it was moved to Maitland in 2006, where it has since been held.

Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said it showed Newcastle had built a status as a destination for live music and major events.

"On the back of unforgettable performances last year by Elton John and Paul McCartney, and ahead of next month's sold-out Pink concert, Newcastle has become a must stop destination for promoters looking for a world-class city to include on their national concert tour schedule," she said.

"As the only NSW stop on the tour, the festival will play an important role in boosting tourism and the local economy by attracting thousands of music fans to travel to Newcastle for the event."

Maitland council was disappointed to learn the festival would be relocated from the city's showground, "where it's been a firm favourite for thousands of locals and visitors" for almost two decades.

"Despite being a significant economic driver for Maitland, drawing a crowd and fostering community spirit, we understand the challenges currently facing the Australian music festival scene including rising costs, reduced suppliers and changing ticket purchasing trends," a council spokesperson said.

"While the decision to relocate Groovin the Moo is a disappointing one, Maitland City Council offer the organisers our best wishes for the future."

Maitland mayor Philip Penfold said there were no hard feelings to see the festival go "just 30 minutes down the road."

"Maitland Showground is not a council facility ... the new owners of the event cited some challenges with the festival scene around rising costs, which we fully understand," he said.

The festival has always been under the lens of Maitland residents, with some criticising the anti-social behaviour of punters and the massive clean-up job left in their wake.

"There's no doubt it caused work for the council, festival goers would try to camp in non-designated areas, and there was an element of anti-social behaviour that came along with it," Cr Penfold said.

"We were always happy to work with that though, and we're primarily glad to see it remain in the region and close to Maitland."

A Groovin the Moo spokesperson said they were looking forward to growing the event on Newcastle's iconic foreshore.

"We're really excited to be putting on a festival in Foreshore Park. The decision to move the festival was a very difficult one for us but ultimately we felt necessary to grow the event and take advantage of Newcastle's impressive transport and accommodation options. Foreshore Park is a stunning location and we look forward to calling it home," the spokesperson said.

Live music advocate and King Street Hotel co-owner Greg Mathew welcomed the announcement of the tour, and said it would provide another great addition to the city's thriving live music scene.

"Having major events such as Groovin the Moo select Newcastle is a great sign of how our city has grown and also how important it is [in] the Australian music scene," Mr Mathew said.

"It's also a great boost for local business to have such a landmark festival call Newcastle home for its NSW leg.

"Newcastle has been a huge supporter of all genres of music and I am sure the city will embrace GTM."

Maitland City Council says it is open to collaboration with other event organisers and eager to explore opportunities to fill the city's major event calendar.