The festival has hosted global headliners such as Robert Plant, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Nick Cave, Lady Blackbird, Peggy Seeger and Suzanne Vega.
It typically attracts about 14,000 people.
Mr Dryden, who has attended the event since it first began, told Radio Cambridgeshire the festival lost money last year, but he felt the decision to cancel came “out of the blue”.
“People come from all over the world, it’s part of their holiday,” he said.
“A lot of people look forward to it, so this is going to be a big disappointment to lots of people.”
