The Princetown event was slated for November but festival director Jayden Bath made the call to push it back.

"Unfortunately, November is looking a little too dicey to host a music festival," Bath said.

"But after taking 2020 off we refuse to wait another full year to come together again, so Loch Hart is shifting to 14-16 January 2022.

"We are optimistic that this minor postponement of two months is enough for Victoria to get on top of COVID-19, while also enabling us to welcome guests back to Princetown as soon as festivals reopen."

All previously announced artists are on board for the new dates, with more to announce including eight more artists, five comedians, a guest-speaker, art installations and more.

Earlier, June 23: Loch Hart Music Festival is set for a summer return to the south-west after it joined a slew of events called off due to the pandemic last year.

The three-day arts event in Princetown, along the Great Ocean Road, was gaining momentum in its third year when director Jayden Bath made the early and difficult call to postpone.

Now two years on, the tight-knit local team is excited to officially announce its 2021 dates.

"We've locked in 19-21 November this year and we're super excited to be back after two long years," Bath said.

"Last year we were pretty pessimistic about what the state of events was going to be so we called the festival off pretty early and managed to not lose much in terms of financials or planning.

"The biggest loss for us was our momentum and growth - we doubled in size from 2018 to 2019 and were hoping to keep that momentum going in 2020 but had to pull the pin."

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The grassroots BYO event plays host to more than 20 Australian acts over one weekend on one stage in a natural amphitheater at Kangaroobie Camp and has seen performances from the likes of Warrnambool's Didirri, Alice Ivy, Alpine, Waax, Last Dinosaurs and Genesis Owusu.

The festival has a region-first focus; from the food trucks to the live acts.

"It's a very active initiative from us to ensure we are collaborating with the community in any way possible," Bath said. "We do that from the stall holders to hiring toilets, but most importantly through booking artists; making sure our regional artists have the opportunity to perform to local audiences and put them on display in front of audiences traveling to the area for the festival."

It's a boutique event and fosters connection and community first and foremost.

"It's very much designed around everything we love to see at a music festival; it's the kind of festival where you'll pull up a tent next to a neighbour and be best friends by the end of the festival.

"When it comes to artists we try extremely hard to book people who have an amazing live performance. It's not necessarily about the trending names or the biggest names, it's about who delivers the best live music performance on stage."

To celebrate the securing of the November 19-21 date, the festival has launched a competition today ahead of pre-sale ticket releases for patrons to have the chance of winning four festival tickets, glamping and a helicopter ride over the Twelve Apostles.

"If you're getting tickets to the 2021 event we encourage people to enter the competition because just by entering you secure access to pre-sale tickets which are happening July 26."

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