This latest venues roundup looks at various funding programs to help venues and festivals. We investigate problems caused by more Gen-Z behaviour changes about going out, and why Laneway had to make the decision to drop Perth and Adelaide.
A Brisbane stadium is trialling ride-sharing zones, a Perth hotel which inspired a great Australian rock anthem is to be demolished, a bush-doof site closes for the time being, tradies are chasing payment from a new Sunshine Coast bar and a Queensland stadium is claiming a world first to satisfy their thirsty patrons.
10,000 Gigs Funding Opens In Victoria
The Victorian State Government’s 10,000 Gigs: The Victorian Gig Fund returns for the year, supporting venues to stage more paid gigs by Victorian artists.
Applications from eligible licensed live music venues and other venues presenting live music are open until Wednesday, September 2. They can apply for grants of up to $11,000 to stage up to 20 paid performances by Victorian artists between December 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027.
The fund is delivered by Music Victoria. Its CEO Fiona Duncan says, “Victoria’s live music venues are where artists build careers, audiences discover new music and communities come together. Supporting these spaces to program more live music creates opportunities that flow right across our industry.
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"10,000 Gigs: The Victorian Gig Fund is an important investment in the places where live music happens, helping venues create more paid opportunities for Victorian artists and giving audiences more reasons to get out and experience live music.”
Since launching in 2024, the Gig Fund has supported more than 7,600 gigs. They have not only been in high profile music spaces as The Wesley Anne, Howler, and The Tote but the non-traditional venues as Echuca Aquatic Reserve and Coal Creek Community Park & Museum.
Music Victoria will host a free Online Information Session on Tuesday, August 18 to guide prospective applicants through the program, eligibility requirements and application process. Register at their website.
These grants form part of the Victorian Government's $35.4 million investment, announced in the 2023–24 Victorian Budget, to support Victoria's live music industry at all levels and in all parts of the state.
Minister for Creative Industries Vicki Ward says: "Labor is serious about supporting the work of artists, businesses and venues that turn up the music for us all."
Showground Arena Grows To 20,000 Seats
Redevelopment of the arena in the Brisbane Showgrounds to reach 20,000-seat capacity will start shortly. The expansion is designed to attract more concerts, sporting events and major exhibitions.
It will be part of the Queensland Government’s $287 million revamp of the Showgrounds by Hutchinson Builders. See here for more details.
16 Victorian Festivals Get $640K
Sixteen festivals across Victoria are getting $640,000 worth of funding in Round 3 of the State Government’s Live Music Festivals Fund. They included Port Fairy Folk and Queenscliff Music alongside newer events like Abbotsford’s LuliePalooza, Footscray’s electronic festival The DOT, and Mt Martha’s First Peoples’ music festival, Our Survival Day.
The funding also backs festivals in regional communities, including areas affected by the 2026 bushfires including Castlemaine’s Town Folk and Tallarook’s Interstellar Groove.
The Live Music Festivals Fund supports jobs for artists and crew while helping bring to life live music experiences for all Victorians including First Peoples-led festivals, disability-led initiatives and events celebrating LGBTQIA+ communities.
For the full list of recipients or more information on the latest grants visit the Creative Victoria website.
Opinion: Laneway Scale-Back A Sign Of The Times
Social media posts following Laneway 2027’s decision to scale back and white-paint out Adelaide and Perth were furious and betrayed. Some suggested fellow-fans reject the festival when it returned.
But for the live sector, it was an inevitable move factoring in logistics and costs. The two cities are increasingly being dropped. Paul Dainty, President and CEO of TEG Dainty, told this column about the inevitability of touring, “Australia is fast turning into just an East Coast tour run. It’s too expensive otherwise.”
In April the Strummingbird Festival dropped Perth from its 2026 schedule.
This year Laneway drew a record breaking 210,000 and a further 40,000 to sideshows. But there are no state-by-state breakdowns.
SA’s Tourism Minister Emily Bourke, responding on the evening news said, “My understanding is that this event" might not be as successful as in other states at this moment” adding of the need to ensure that other events held in Adelaide “are bringing in the crowds.”
Dr Ben Green, a lecturer in the music industry and popular culture at RMIT in Melbourne, said the cancellations had a “terrible impact” for local businesses providing sound, stage, security and catering.
Perth-based Paul Sloan earlier warned on radio that WA music fans flying to the East Coast to catch shows had “a negative impact on the WA economy.”
He went on to suggest that while the WA Government does do one-off sponsorship of big acts to come to Perth, the money could be better spent helping venues lower their costs to all potential users.
The decision by Laneway to return to Brisbane next year was a bitter blow for the Gold Coast’s Southport Sharks.
After drawing 37,000 to their site for Laneway last year without a hitch, other festival promoters had expressed interest in using the grounds, which are connected to the light rail, major arterials, and central to the city.
Laneway had added to the team’s plan to turn their precinct into a year-round of events, which could bring tourism and economic benefits to the region.
Southport Sharks CEO Dean Bowtell was “naturally disappointed” it was losing out to Brisbane.
In a media release he moved ahead: ““While Laneway will return to Brisbane in 2027, its success on the Gold Coast gives us a strong platform to work with government, industry and venue partners on delivery models that keep major events viable and sustainable in the region.
“For Southport Sharks, this aligns directly with our Masterplan objective to build a year-round precinct for entertainment, culture, sport and community events. We remain committed to working with Laneway and other event partners on future Gold Coast opportunities.
“We look forward to announcing another significant entertainment event for late 2027 in the near future.”
Blinded By The Night
The NSW Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, is encouraging more members of the public to start night time economy activities.
Round 4 of the Uptown Grant Program distributed $4.8 million to 41 districts. Funded initiatives included live music and entertainment programs, multicultural festivals, public art activations, coordinated marketing campaigns and greater visitor experiences to increase foot traffic and support local businesses.
Among the precincts were Greater Sydney, Lower Hunter, Greater Newcastle, Central Coast, the Illawarra, and Shoalhaven.
Six districts got funding for the first time. They were The Nest @ Night in Crows Nest, Darby Street in Newcastle, Hello Drummoyne, the Inner West’s Sydney Street Makers, Parramatta’s Parra Nights, and the Illawarra’s SeaCliff Coast. They got $100,000 to $120,000.
Suncorp Stadium Trials Rideshare Pick Up Zone
Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane has started trialling three rideshare pick up zones during major events. It posted that it was addressing congestion caused by rideshare vehicles circulating or waiting in local streets; pedestrian safety concerns; and traffic impacts on surrounding residential areas.
Depending on how the trial works, the stadium says the zones will become permanent as early as September.
They are:
Cribb Street – Between McDougall Street and Railway Terrace (west) & Between Little Cribb Street and Milton Road (east)
Given Terrace – Between Campbell Street and Ranley Grove
Countess Street – Near Secombe Street.
Those wanting to offer feedback can do so by August 31 via the Suncorp Stadium website.
Night-Life Economy Commissioner John ‘JC’ Collins’ Moonside report last month urged the State Government to set up more well-designed designated rideshare pick-up zones and a crackdown on rogue drivers making unreasonable late-night cancellations.
Stadiums and arenas like those in Melbourne Park including Rod Laver Arena, and Sydney’s Accor Stadium and Allianz Stadium, already have such zones.
New Owner For Camden’s Crown Hotel
Crown Hotel in Camden, in southwest Sydney, which features live music and DJ action on weekends, has a new owner. The unnamed private investor paid a reported $24 million to Matt Rogan who owned it for 30 years.
Are Gen Z Becoming Stay-At-Homes?
A new report from the US shines the light on Gen Z partying which could run shivers down the backs of Australian venue operators if it was adopted here.
In a new Harris poll 73% of Gen Z-ers aged 18 to 29 revealed “staying in has become my default weekend plan” because of money problems.
Some don't even dare make plans to go out, in case they get talked into it and later regret the hole in their wallets. Forget FOMO, we’re talking FOFR (fear of financial regret).
They were starting to stay in at least two weekends a month. Nearly three in four (74%) stay in at least half their weekends. 88% of Gen Z are actively avoiding certain social situations. These are loud, crowded spaces (38%) and large groups of near-strangers (39%), Up to 73% wish for more settings where alcohol isn't the main focus.
This is where it’d hurt venues: American Gen Z live event attendees spent a monthly average of $101 on live music events in Q1 2026 according to researcher Luminate.
The most-connected generation in history is the loneliest, Harris summarised. Half of Gen Z (51%) report weekend loneliness, the highest of any generation.
“AC/DC Hotel” To Be Demolished
One of the two Fremantle watering holes which inspired some of Bon Scott’s lyrics to AC/DC’s Highway To Hell could end up being demolished to make way for a 11-storey apartment tower.
In Highway To Hell, Scott sings about riding his motorbike down Canning Highway (one curved section giving it the nickname “highway to hell”) to meet up with drinking pals.
“Goin’ down/party time/My friends are gonna be there too, yeah.” One of these, #326 Canning Highway, is the Leopold Hotel, which has been closed since October 2025.
NSW developer Changfeng Pty Ltd – directed by Ching Wu and Kwai Mo Wong – lodged a $93 million development application with the WA Planning Commission for 203 apartments.
The other hotel that inspired the AC/DC toe-tapper was The Raffles, where Bon also spent considerable time on a liver-quiver with mates.
In 2002, the Raffles site’s new owner, construction company Multiplex, tried to turn the site into a 17-storey apartment tower. As part of the planning permissions, the Art Deco 1939 hotel was retained and renovated.
Performing Arts Awards Join Darwin Festival
A three year deal between the Northern Territory Government and Darwin Festival saw the NT Performing Arts Awards added to the festival. The Government invested $200,000 over the three years for the awards to be produced.
The first was held on August 10 at the INPEX Sunset Stage in Festival Park, with live sets from Alice Cotton, Eleanor Jawurlngali, and Hayley Shone alongside a contemporary string quartet, the SLIDE Youth Dance Theatre, Casii Williams, and Festival guest Michelle Brasier.
Slurp! Townsville Stadium Claims A World First
Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium has claimed a world first with the introduction of FrothStop Elevate.
The technology is built for speed and high-volume beverage service. It can pour a variety of beverages including beer, Guinness, RTDs, and cocktails at up to 200 drinks per hour.
A collaboration between Gema Group and Stadiums Queensland, Cameron Jones, Venue Manager, said the idea was to get patrons back to their seats to watch the event with full drinks.
It is found in the stadium's corporate area on level 2, near the Club Lounge.
In 2023, the stadium was the first in Australia to introduce FrothStop Group's Multi Pour 6 automated dispensing technology in 2023.
Musical Chairs
One-time Melbourne based Live Nation APAC President Roger Field has joined Singapore touring and concert firm Triangle as Executive Director and Operating Partner. He came on board full-time after a year as an advisor and investor in the business.
Triangle recently raised $15 million. It said in a statement: “We set out to build seamless, end-to-end infrastructure for artists and festivals coming to Asia. A raise this size in this market, and the region’s most senior executive choosing to join us, are the clearest proof yet that vision is real, and ready to scale.”
One time truck driver Adam Bortolo has bought the Welder's Dog in Tamworth NSW (37 Dowe Street) and changed its name to Turtle’s Bar. He figured that during the current fuel crisis, he’d rather be pouring beer than transporting it. It features live music and events on the weekends.
Lachy Harrison (ex-Jennie and Bar Bar) is co-owner and Venue Manager of soon-to-launch Adelaide bar No. 6 East – a first-floor terrace bar on East Terrace overlooking Rymill Park.
Townsville lawyer Peter Duffy is new Chair of marketing, tourism, events strategy and economic development organisation Townsville Enterprise Limited following Kevin Gill's departure. It positions the region as the events capital of North Queensland by securing music tours and large festivals to drive tourism.
Bush Doo Site Closes After Death
The Hidden Camp farmstay which held the Rhythm Of The Wild rave for 1,000 has closed temporarily after the death of a punter, The Courier Mail reported.
Hidden Camp is held in bushland at Glenwood between Maryborough and Gympie, Queensland.
Police are investigating how Trenton Ehrhorn, 40, fell two metres from the stage about 1.20am on July 25 after an alleged altercation.
The paper updated: “A 33-year-old Burpengary man, who was also hurt but stable, was put under police guard in Gympie Hospital on July 25 but later released and not charged.”
The Fraser Coast Regional Council confirmed “the event was conducted without the required approval”. A GoFundMe raised over $5,000 for Ehrhorn’s family.
Albert Hall Wins International Architecture Award
The $20 million restoration and renewal of Launceston's historic Albert Hall received international recognition. Out of 1,200 submissions, it took out the 2026 International Architecture Award presented by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Ticketmaster Extends Discovery To Google’s Gemini
Ticketmaster announced customers will in a few weeks find details of concerts, sports, theatre, and festivals through a newly installed app in Google’s AI assistant Gemini.
People can ask the AI assistant questions such as “What concerts are happening in Chicago this weekend?” or “Find me two tickets to a football match under $150.”
Gemini returns event information, seating options and ticket prices. Fans pick an option are sent through to Ticketmaster with their seats already selected.
The alliance comes as Gemini reached 1 billion monthly users. In April Ticketmaster launched its app inside ChatGPT which has 900 million weekly active users.
Building Allowed Despite Mojos Concerns
Despite concerns it could lead to noise complaints against music venue Mojos, a $6.75 million plan to build a mixed-use building in North Fremantle’s Queen Victoria Street has been allowed.
It includes six apartments, along with retail and office space. The Urban Developer said there had been concerns by live music punters that Mojos could cop noise complaints down the track.
The music venue had been on that spot since the early ‘70s, then known as The Stoned Crow.
“In a 349-page report to the panel that mentioned Mojo’s 17 times, City of Fremantle planner Chloe Johnston said (builder) GJJ (Property) had located living spaces away from the celebrated pop and rock music venue. Johnston said the project would also have masonry walls and limited window openings to keep the venue’s noise out.”
A Few Things From Overseas
UK women's safety campaigners The End Violence Against Women coalition and domestic abuse charity Women's Aid are calling for Thirty Seconds To Mars' April 2027 concerts to be canned after the BBC aired four women accusing singer Jared Leto of sexual assault and grooming in the 2000s when they were teenagers. Leto strongly denies the claims.
Chris Brown and Usher have already passed the US$100 million mark in box-office earnings on “The R&B Tour,” according to producer Live Nation. The first eight stadiums grossed $101.9 million, based on 566,043 tickets sold at the first 13 sold-out concerts.
At the New Zealand Events Association’s awards, Laneway took Music Event of the Year. It drew 35,000 to Te Wai Ōrea/Western Springs in Auckland.
Speaking of Western Springs, it’s gone through a rebrand. It’s now a boutique bowl format for concerts in summer (for between 15,000 to 30,000) and elite sports in the winter. Partners in the venture are promoters Brent Eccles and Campbell Smith and the Ponsonby Rugby Club.
The first Fleadh festival in Ireland drew 1.65 million visits to Belfast. One of the organisers told the crowd, "We've done something that has never, ever happened in this city before. We've brought every single community together – and everybody has absolutely loved it."
In a turn of the circle, SJM Concerts which promoted the Oasis 2025 reunion tour has been granted a licence to host events at Knebworth House mansion in England. They can have up to 125,000 people at the 500-year old house and keep amps on until 3am.
On August 10 and 11, 1996, Oasis played two magnificent shows at Knebworth Park (the Hall’s surrounding 250-acre estate, drawing 250,000 over the two days from an estimated 2.5 million ticket applications. The scuttlebutt is that Oasis want to play six nights at the venue over a three-week period in September 2027.
Led Zeppelin, Queen, Metallica, Paul McCartney, and Robbie Williams are among those who’ve played the park.
After 24 years of greeting the new year at Waiohika Estate near Gisborne with some of the biggest names in the world, premier New Zealand festival Rhythm And Vines will play its last there this year. The next host city has not been announced.
Music Business Weekly made the observation that ticket reseller StubHub spent close to $2.6 million on lobbying in California between April and June. That took its lobbying spend in that state d to $3.4 million for the calendar year. By fantastic coincidence California‘s bid to cap live event ticket resale prices at 10% above face value has been postponed by fiscal committees.
For Aussies who heard rumours Madonna was headlining next year’s Glastonbury and started booking flights, we should tell you this has been officially denied by the festival.
Sackville Hotel Goes To Hemmes For $50m
Inner West Sydney live music venue The Sackville in Rozelle has tossed the keys to a new owner. It’s billionaire Justin Hemmes, who took $50 million from petty cash to owner Amalgamated Hotels. It was operated by the Solotel Group.
On Fridays and Sundays it showcases acoustic live acts, programmed by staff and management. Saturday’s laid back music starts at 3pm and ends up late nights with resident DJs.
Hemmes paid a reported $5 million for the Three Weeds in Rozelle in 2019. In June he forked out $19 million for one-time RSL club The Barracks on Barrack Street. The sale was opposed by some RSL club members.
Barrack Street is part of Hemmes broader vision of setting up a mega-hospitality and entertainment precinct over the King, York, and Clarence Streets.
High Vaultage
The interesting thing about visitors to the Australian Music Vault, which collects audio and visual rock and roll memorabilia, often come as family groups. Grandparents, parents, and kids tend to turn each other on to stars from different eras. At last count in 2022, two million had entered the exhibition section of Arts Centre Melbourne.
From October 1, this inter-generational bonding can take place at a new bar, which opens from 4pm with beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks, and snacks. It is also designed as a pre- and post-show destinations for other shows at the Centre.
The Vault was founded in 2017 by Michael Gudinski, Ian “Molly” Meldrum, Kylie Minogue, Tina Arena, and Archie Roach as a free place to see an ever-changing array of stage costumes, hear the inspirations of the Australian sound, and hear anecdotes.
Currently spotlighted in the Vault are Minogue, Roach, Meldrum, AC/DC, John Farnham, INXS, Marcia Hines, Split Enz, Yothu Yindi, Sampa The Great, Tash Sultana, and Amyl And The Sniffers.
No Sleep Till Canberra
A joint communiqué from the ACT and Federal Governments revealed a step ahead for the National Convention and Entertainment Centre in Canberra.
A tender is released to appoint a specialist consultant team to develop the projects’ business case (scope, costs, benefits, risks, delivery options) and initial reference design.
It confirmed the venue will attract live entertainment, major conventions, business events and cultural activities to Canberra.
Six Meltdowns!
Adelaide’s Semaphore Workers Club, known for its live music and lively political discussions, had two 120-year olds billiard tables vandalised with swastikas and a heritage window smashed. A Communist Party banner, alcohol and a painting were stolen.
Launceston man Linden Forrest is pursuing civil damages against someone who attacked him in 2010 outside the Pavilion Brewhouse causing brain damage.
The man, Benjamin Dale Evans, had already faced criminal proceedings, where he pleaded guilty and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years, and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.
Forrest is also taking legal action against venue operator Bordin Management Pty Ltd as a defendant. He says the company was negligent in throwing both men out at the same time after an earlier altercation in its upstairs nightclub Twains, and failing to ensure Forrest left the area safely before being attacked a second time.
Liquor & Gaming NSW is investigating a new trend where influencers in clubs and pubs use the venue’s QR codes to get their online followers to “shout” them drinks. The codes are placed on tables so patrons can buy drinks and snacks without having to queue at the bar.
The Sunday Telegraph spotted “two men at a Sydney bar posted a code online and were served 11 rounds, including tequila shots, wines, beers, and espresso, and apple martinis. Bar staff had to deactivate the QR code to cut them off.”
UK rapper Yung Filly, who was just acquitted by a Perth jury of raping a fan after a gig in 2024 (but found guilty of assaulting a woman), might face other legal woes. WA Police allege he was caught with more than half an ounce of cannabis while out on bail.
Tradies who worked until midnight to finish off before the May opening of Sunshine Coast bar Somewhere Good are claiming they are still awaiting payment – some up to $10,000. Owners say they are querying some of the items on the invoices.
Husband and wife music duo Wings Of Desire who travelled “hours” with a 11-week baby and a carer to play the Valley Fest near Bristol UK, arrived to find they weren’t scheduled (even though they were booked in February and on the festival’s early posters) and fans couldn’t find them on the website.
Seems the festival had merged two stages at the last minute and they fell through the cracks.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
