New Sydney Music Venue To Open 2014

Sydney's Imperial Hotel has rebranded its basement as The Roller Den with a view to enhancing its live music offering in the new year.

Entertainment management group Kingdom Sounds will oversee the room at the Erskineville pub, which has a capacity of 550 and will enjoy the venue's 8m license. Kingdom Sounds also manage the live music for Entrance Leagues Club, The Burdekin, Mona Vale Hotel and Hornsby RSL.

Launching Friday 7 March with The Snowdroppers, a hip hop club headlined by exciting young MC L-FRESH The LION called Knowledge will kick off Saturday 22 March and a weekly indie club night, Common People, will launch Friday 4 April.

Kingdom Sounds' Steve Sewell said, “I believe the venue will be one of many more to come in Sydney's hub for music, arts and culture and I'm stoked to have my team and myself involved in the new wave of live music venues and culture in the area.”

The Imperial is renowned for its cabaret and alternative live entertainment, but their partnership with Kingdom Sounds is their strongest signal of a live music focus yet. As part of the revamp a new NEXO PA system will be installed alongside a purpose-built stage suitable for touring artists, which is being constructed throughout January.

The news comes as iconic live venue the Annandale Hotel appears to have shut its doors to live music, with new owners Oscars closing the Leichhardt venue for renovations. All shows that were booked – including The Smith Street Band, Future Of The Left, Deafheaven and Sebadoh – have been moved to alternate venues.

A development application found by theMusic.com.au indicates that the renovations will look to transform at least a part of the Annandale into a 24-room boarding house as well as retail and commercial spaces, that is office blocks and store fronts. Oscars have not yet clarified their plans for the venue to theMusic.

In announcing the Imperial's new band room, Kingdom Sounds have used a lot of language similar to that spoken by Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne during the year. He, along with support from Marrickville Council, had promised to establish a live music precinct along Parramatta Road before 2014. The Imperial is in close proximity to Newtown's King St, where there is the potential to foster a number of live music venues, including the smaller rooms on the nearby crossroad Enmore Road.

Renovations at King St's Newtown Social Club are ongoing ahead of the opening of its band room, which will operate in close conjunction with sister Melbourne venue the Northcote Social Club.

After years of neglect venues operators will also be hoping that a collection of new live music reforms, the first of which have already passed council, will provide some much needed support and stability to the sector in the new year.