St Kilda Crowned Victoria's First Live Music Precinct

Today, the Port Philip Council Mayor Heather Cunsolo crowned St Kilda Victoria’s first Live Music Precinct (LMP).

Officially launching the St Kilda Live Music Precinct today, the initiative was celebrated at the Memo Music Hall in St Kilda. And what’s a celebration of live music without some performances? 

Today’s celebrations, beginning at 11:35 am, contained some special yet too-short performances by John Wayne Parsons, Alice Skye, and Mark Seymour of Hunters & Collectors fame.

“St Kilda’s status as Victoria’s first LMP reflects our famous suburb’s past as a much-loved live music hub, its present as a renowned live music destination and its future as a ground-breaking example of how to keep live music alive close to homes and businesses,” Cunsolo said in a statement.  

Cunsolo added that the Port Philip Council is “Making it simpler for residents to raise concerns such as noise complaints, supporting musicians and music events and slashing red tape for venues are all ways our Council can be a live music ‘one-stop shop’.  

“By working with the Victorian Government to celebrate, protect and promote live music, we can also help support performers, venues and hospitality businesses to rebuild after being hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.”  

The Live Music Precinct echoes the Special Entertainment Precincts found in Queensland and New South Wales, most notably in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. The existence of an LMP in Victoria provides a framework to support changes required designed to balance the needs of venues, performers and residents in a growing suburb. Community consultation will continue to be undertaken as the project progresses.  

Here are the next steps for St Kilda now that it’s Victoria’s first Live Music Precinct:

The Port Philip Council will work closely with the Victorian Government to simplify, streamline and reduce the burden of regulations on live music venues and events. Four different regulators, including the Council, can currently be involved with a noise complaint.

From there, the two teams will investigate a potential planning scheme amendment to protect existing and future live music venues by enshrining the existing Agent of Change principle across the LMP instead of for individual premises. It’s about being prepared for the future and protecting a live music city – this could mean new residential developments considering existing live music venues and the possibility of new ones opening nearby through measures such as adequate soundproofing.  

In addition to being named Victoria’s first Live Music Precinct, music fans can follow St Kilda's music history map issued by the City of Port Phillip. Concertgoers can then visit iconic landmarks in person, stopping along the way to catch a meal or a gig.

St Kilda will also platform an outdoor exhibition along Acland Street showcasing iconic photographs from St Kilda’s famed post-punk period in the 70s and 80s featured from today until 10 July. To accompany the exhibition, an outdoor rock poster exhibition featuring bill posters from that era will be scattered throughout central St Kilda from 23 July.  

Works by artists affiliated with the St Kilda live music scene of the 70s and 80s, which are part of the City of Port Phillip contemporary art collection, will also be exhibited in the Carlisle Street Arts Space at St Kilda Town Hall from 11 July.