More venue start-ups opened up offering opportunities for musicians, while two Far North Queensland festivals posted their biggest attendances. Rock Posters turns 40, Penrith Stadium is up on the roof, and the Gold Coast Arena project has gone over budget.
A punter is suing a major venue operator, police are investigating the violent death in a bush doof and a disturbing report shows UK venues closing at an alarming rate.
Push To Ban Vehicles On Hindley Street
There’s a push to ban vehicles on Adelaide’s entertainment strip Hindley Street on Fridays and Saturday nights, the Seven Network has revealed. It follows the death of an 18-year-old punter who was knocked over by two cars while crossing the road on Saturday night.
He was first hit by a Toyota sedan and then fell into the path of a Ford four-wheel-drive.
Councillor Mary Couros said the incident called for an urgent safety overhaul. “The closing of the street might be a priority putting bollards on either end to allow easy accessibility for the foot traffic that happens at night,” she said.
Punters agreed on camera that the move was necessary given the huge crowds that used the strip after clubbing and other night time activities.
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The Adelaide City Council had earlier reported, “There (are) eight times more pedestrian traffic than cars at peak times.” It has put aside multi-million dollar funding to upgrade the strip – which was last upgraded in 1999 – by 2030.
Odd Culture To Operate “Impy”
Odd Culture will on September 1 take over operations of Universal Hotels’ LGBTQIA+ hub The Impy, aka Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel. It is to go through a $5 million refurbishment which will include the launch of a 24-hour club.
Odd Culture Group founder and director James Thorpe said: “The Imperial has spent more than forty years helping to shape Sydney’s queer culture. This redevelopment is one of the biggest investments in its history, but more importantly, it’s an investment in the next forty years.”
Changes are made to the public bar, dining and experience, and an expanded beer garden. The lower ground will almost double in size.
Rosemount Returning With New Name
The new owner of one of the best known venues on Adelaide’s Hindley Street strip has signalled that it’s returning to action as The Rosey.
With a new fit-out it will focus on entertainment, live sports and dining. One of the owners was so busy with getting The Rosey back in action that he didn’t have the time to pick up his luxury car from his mechanic.
The delay cost him: the auto shop burned down in the meantime.
Live Music Arrives At Freehouse, Sandfire & Malpass
Musicians get three new places to play at, with live music programmed at three new developments.
TWØBAYS Brewing Co is this month opening The Freehouse in Collingwood, Melbourne. Founder Richard Jeffares confirmed music acts and visual artists would be booked to turn the 170-capacity space into a cultural hub, as well as being a dining and drink destination. Venue General Manager is Kait Oliver.
The Gold Coast’s newly opened Sandfire Oceanfront Bar, Dining & Events will host Sunday Soirée, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm tapping on Gold Coast acts.
Townsville Brewing Co, new owners of the iconic Malpass Hotel on Eighth Avenue, have confirmed that regular music acts will be showcased as part of the family business’ strategy to make the venue a cultural hub.
ICC Sydney Gets Quiet Room
ICC Sydney has launched a permanent Quiet Room, a calm, low-stimulation environment providing visitors with a safe space to rest, regulate, and reset before re-entering the event.
As part of its Disability Inclusion Action Plan, the Quiet Room was developed with, and accredited by Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia), provider of autism-specific services and expertise.
Venue Operator, Security Firm, Sued
The Australian Venue Co (AVC) and security service firm Eagle Eye are being sued by a patron who alleges he sustained a traumatic brain injury after being thrown down the stairs by a security person.
The Geelong Advertiser reported the alleged incident took place on November 30th, 2024 at long time live music venue The Eureka Hotel, which is owned by AVC.
Court papers filed by Dallas Fehling-Riccardi of Bell Park contended he was “grabbed in a headlock by a security guard” employed by Eagle Eye and “thrown to the floor and/or down the stairs at the venue”.
American Apparel Offers $10K Merch Deal & Spilt Milk Slot
American Apparel’s Start Up Fund returns for a second year which offers $10,000 in merchandising for four emerging acts and a spot on Spilt Milk for one via public vote. Applications close August 28th.
In 2025, the four Fund winners were BIRDEE, THIRST TRAP, Paulina x Tom Thum, and Maina Doe. THIRST TRAP and Paulina played as part of American Apparel House at SXSW Sydney, sharing the stage with Zion Garcia, Sollyy, and Ninajirachi.
For Every 100 UK Music Spaces That Open, 76 Close…
For every 100 music venues or event spaces that open in the UK, 76 close. This is according to a study by TicketSource, which also found that one in 25 UK venues don’t make it past their first year. Half of those surviving make zero profit.
This doesn’t mean venues are heading the way of the dodo because new ones are opening at a rapid rate (242 in 2025). But according to TicketSource, this shows “how little room there is between growth and decline,” where “a single difficult year of rising costs, weaker audiences, or reduced local funding could quickly shift that balance.”
In other dismal news, 89% don’t make it to five years. One UK venue shuts every 16 hours. In 2025, venues grew by 15 a week, but 11 disappeared.
…But Tax Cuts Introduced
The new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a 20% business rates cut for pubs, clubs and music venues from April 2027. It is part of the Government’s strategy to help retail and hospitality companies.
The rates cut is expected to benefit around 32,000 venues and save them an estimated £1,100 (AU$2,106) over the course of the 2027-2028 year. This follows a 15% cut introduced for pubs, clubs, and live music venues in April.
Success Stories For Cairns Festivals
Two Far North Queensland festivals have pulled in the numbers, The Cairns Post reported.
The Australian Festival of Chamber Music, which moved to Cairns this year from Townsville, “delivered record-breaking ticket sales and injected more than $3 million into the Cairns economy.”
It generated over 66,000 director visit nights, with 80% travelling to the Far North just for the nine-day event.
First Nations arts and culture Cairns Indigenous Art Fair – music, visual art, performance, fashion, and storytelling – hit a new record attendance this year, with 17,000 attending.
Police Investigating Death At Bush Doof
Police are investigating the death of a 40-year-old man at the Rhythm Of The Wild bush doof at Hidden Camp, Glenwood in Queensland. It is believed he was in an altercation at 1.30am on opening night with a 33-year-old on the stage before he fell two metres.
Will Leichhardt Oval Return As A Concert Venue?
The next step for suburban sports hub Leichhardt Oval in Sydney, is taken with $40 million being finalised for renovations.
The free One Last Roar concert headed by The Angels and The Superjesus is held on Saturday September 19th to farewell the grounds until 2028.
On its return it is expected it will host more concerts. It’s something that Inner West Mayor, Darcy Byrne has been pushing for years, in 2024 outlining the possibility of hosting four to five concerts a year.
The Oval’s revamp is jointly funded with $20 million from the Albanese Labor Government, $10 million from the Minns Labor Government and $10 million from Inner West Council.
There’ll be upgraded grandstands and toilets, modern facilities and improved amenity for users and fans.
Musical Chairs
After an international recruitment process, Dylan Cole is new CEO and Festival Director of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of its artistic, strategic, and commercial direction.
Cole has been a member of the festival’s executive leadership team for past two years.
Avris Harris filled the newly-created role of Event Delivery at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, which hosts major touring concerts, entertainment acts and large scale music events. She was previously Executive Director of Events at Experience Gold Coast.
Sydney’s Blacktown Venue Management hired Ros Pullen as Manager of Key Venues and its CEO for the next 12 months.
Matthew Sen, longtime owner and operator of Sydney inner west’s Forest Lodge Hotel (aka The Flodge), has retired. It was a destination for nearby Sydney University and Broadway folk.
Biennale of Sydney announced Low Kee Hong as 2028 Artistic Director. Currently the Creative Director of Factory International at Aviva Studios in the UK, he leads the Singapore Biennale.
Laundy Hotels’ new COO Gavin Saunders was previously CEO role at Liquor Marketing Group.
The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) has welcomed cellist Adam Szabo as its Managing Director from January 2027.
Pause Button Pressed On Gold Coast Arena
Plans for the 15,000-seat Gold Coast Arena are on pause for the moment, according to The Gold Coast Bulletin. The reason is that costs have blown out to $1 billion from earlier estimates of $450 million and $750 million.
Mayor Tom Tate, for whom the arena is a pet project, has to approach the Queensland Government to to help cover a potential $400 million funding gap. It’s likely he’ll ask for assets rather than cash.
Rock Posters Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Melbourne-based company Rock Posters has four decades of printing and installing the street posters that have announced concerts, festivals, exhibitions, films, theatre productions, political campaign, and defining cultural moments.
In its early days, almost every job was screen printed by hand, and producing 100 of them took half a day. In its factory in Thornbury, it retains traditional screen printing but digital techniques allow them to produce 10,000 a week.
Inside the factory, Kylie Minogue hangs alongside The Rolling Stones, as do posters for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Midnight Oil, AC/DC, KISS, the Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, Oasis, and countless emerging artists.
Because they have only a few seconds to catch someone’s attention, they have to be bright (using no more than three colours) and bold.
The famous poster for Cold Chisel’s Last Stand tour features Jimmy Barnes soaked in sweat and holding a bottle on stage. The image, General Manager Marcus Seal says, is not quite what it appears. The shot was reportedly staged early in the morning, with water thrown over Barnes to create the appearance of a performance.
Dave Grohl asked for the production process to be documented for a Foo Fighters album campaign.
One of Rock Posters’ earliest and steadfast champions was Michael Gudinski. Rock Posters founder John D’Aquino worked at Gudinski’s Premier Artists before setting up the company with his brother Frank D’Aquino and Joe Di Natale in 1986 in a Victorian-era shopfront on Johnston Street in Fitzroy.
Gudinski and D’Aquino worked closely together over decades, finding creative ways to use the street poster as both advertising and art.
As part of their 40th anniversary, Rock Posters is considering how the collection can be catalogued, preserved and shared more widely, while continuing to develop new partnerships.
“The posters were created to be temporary,” Seal points out. “They were printed, pasted onto a wall and eventually covered by the next campaign. But taken together, they have become an extraordinary cultural record.
“This anniversary is about recognising everything John, Frank, and the Rock Posters team have built, while ensuring the business continues to support Melbourne’s creative life for the next 40 years.”
Misfits Closing After Two Years
Footscray, Melbourne venue Misfits is closing up in September after two years. More updates will be announced on Instagram.
When Jacob Bell, Amber Hahipene, and Jerry Poon set up the bar and music venue on the one-time site of Baby Snakes in early 2024, they hoped to create that sort of people that attracted passionate music fans and passing crazies and help build up the grassroots scene.
But Poon said that aside from operational costs, there was a safety risk with female staff followed at night, a mattress burned outside the building, the premises broken into, and staff verbally abused.
Penrith Stadium Leaves Its Hat On
The $309 million redevelopment of Penrith Stadium in western Sydney reached a milestone with the installation of the roof. It used eight ground-assembled prefabricated modules, weighing between 42 and 120 tonnes. The western grandstand roof has solar panels which can generate up to 120 kilowatts of electricity,
Over half the stadium seats will be protected from the weather, the project is due to open in 2027 as a sport and entertainment destination.
Five Meltdowns!
Tamworth Regional Council had to admit it was not aware that the former General Manager of Tamworth Country Music Festival Joel Ulbricht had stepped down from his role a few months after he took over this year because he was facing court on charges of sexual touching without consent.
According to court documents, before Ulbricht took over the role, he invited the complainant to a house in the NSW Central Coast for a catch-up. Drinks were consumed and the complainant felt ill and went to sleep when the offence took place. Ulbricht, who couldn’t remember the incident, pleaded guilty but his sentencing was delayed last week.
Traders and venue owners on Melbourne’s nightclub strip Chapel Street have hit out at “madness” plans by Stonnington Council to axe 356 paid parking spaces. Council has to pay the State Government a congestion tax on car spaces to encourage visitors to the area to take public transport. Axing the car spaces is expected to save $622,736.
The moshpit at the University of Otago’s Union Hall in New Zealand was full pelt at a gig by local metal band Devilskin.
Then someone reportedly defecated in their pants, with the offending mass (equating to “the size of a shoe”, according to a witness) slithering down onto the floor. No one realised what happened until “a huge mess of shit, just completely spread all in the mosh pit" and people started vomiting.
The manager of the Gladstone Hotel in Stockton was banned from managing a licenced venue after a man drank 19 beers, a shot of tequila, and a shot of Cointreau in a five-hour binge-drinking session before collapsing outside. Two years ago, the manager’s wife copped a two-year ban for a similar offence, and with the same man.
Owners of Chaos Bar in Geelong, Victoria, are perplexed that tables and chairs given to them by the local council for outdoor dining disappeared overnight.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
