A new report shows that strategies to spark up night-time economies are working. More people are going out with more choices offered.
Creative Victoria confirmed a $2 million boost to live music. More new stadiums, clubs and festivals are appearing. Other venues are being upgraded.
There is good news for Aussies from Coachella. Music projects remain a tourism drawcard. Liquidation is still a sobering reminder of continued challenges, while the live sector is angrily calling out NSW police behaviour during Oxford Street raids.
Visa Index Shows 15% Rise In Aussies Going Out At Night
Australians are going out at night more than ever, according to The Visa Australia Night-time Economy Index 2026. There’s been a 15% rise in after-dark consumers in the past 12 months, going out at an average of 80.2 nights annually. The figure was 69.6 in 2025.
Visa lauds the growing vibrancy of the night-time economy “as consumers seek a broader mix of dining, live entertainment, and affordable activities like festivals, night markets, and community events.”
The Index is put together in points based on spending on Visa cards after dark, combined with measures of how vibrant the sector is in each area, how well the local councils perform, their level of safety and how accessible metropolitan, suburban and regional precincts are across the country.
Inner city Melbourne remains at the top. But Sydney made tremendous gains to close the gap.
Brisbane too has made strides, jumping to #8 from #16. Queenslanders were now going out on average 72.3 nights per year compared to 59.1 days in 2025 — a 22 per cent increase.
These are Visa’s Top 10:
#1. Melbourne Inner (78.03 points) 0 movement
#2. Sydney City and Inner South (76.65 points) 0 movement
#3. Parramatta NSW (71.74 points) +1 movement
#4. Inner South West Sydney (68.56 points) +1
#5. South West Sydney (67.20 points) + 8
#6. North Sydney and Hornsby (65.15 points) + 1
#7. Blacktown (NSW) (63.69 points) +2
#8. Brisbane Inner City (62.88 points) +8
#9. Inner West Sydney (62.84 points -3
#10. Canberra (60.90 points) +2
Cost remains a factor for many Australians but concerns about affordability and safety are easing, summarises the report.
The share of people citing cost as a barrier to going out fell from 66% to 60% year-on-year, while concerns around safety dropped from 45% to 34%.
Australians are increasingly looking for experiences that offer both value and variety, with festivals, night markets and community events ranking among the most desired additions to local night-time offerings.
"What happens after dark tells us a lot about what's changing in Australia," said Alan Machet, Group Country Manager, Visa Oceania.
"The night-time economy is where people pursue the things they're passionate about. Whether that's seeing a favourite artist, going to a sporting event, exploring a night market or trying a new restaurant, these are choices driven by personal interests rather than necessity.”
"That's what makes these insights so valuable. How consumers spend their nights reveals what's changing beneath the surface, from the experiences they value to the places they choose to spend their time. For businesses, those shifts can provide an early signal of where customer preferences are heading."
The Visa Australia Night-time Economy Index 2026 also makes the point that over five in six Australians (84%) believe small local businesses give areas their vibrancy and uniqueness.
Also notable is that nearly eight in ten (78%) believe that businesses staying open into the evening is important to creating a thriving night-time economy.
Creative Australia’s $2M Boost To Live Music
In its latest investment in touring, Creative Australia announced a $2 million investment through Playing Australia and the Contemporary Music Touring Program.
They benefit spaces from major venues and festivals to regional towns and community halls.
Investment of $1.5 million through Playing Australia supports tours of live theatre, dance, puppetry and spoken word performance to 53 locations, with 70% of performances reaching regional or remote communities.
A further 20 projects get funding via the Contemporary Music Touring Program supporting national tours reaching 98 locations across Australia, with additional investment from Music Australia creating more opportunities for Australian musicians to tour nationally.
Other contemporary music tours include The Belair Lip Bombs, Beddy Rays, Rum Jungle, The Tuck Shop Ladies, Sly Withers, Velvet Bloom, Horrorshow and Grieves, The Cambodian Space Project, Sumner, Lizzy & The Woods, and Melbourne Ska Orchestra.
Creative Australia Executive Director of Arts Investment Alice Nash said: "Touring is vital to ensuring people across Australia can experience live music and performing arts, wherever they live.
"This investment supports artists and organisations to build connections with communities, strengthen touring networks and bring high-quality creative experiences to audiences across the country."
WA Venues On Nominations List
Close to 20 live music venues were on the nominations list for the 2026 AHA & Coca-Cola
Hospitality Awards for Excellence. They are held on October 12 and presented at the Stone & Wood Gala Ball at Crown Perth.
Live Entertainment Award
Freo. Social
Har Bar, Dunsborough
Milk Bar at The Civic Hotel, Inglewood
Roebuck Bay Hotel, Broome
Sir Henry’s, Northbridge
Subiaco Hotel
The Aviary, Perth
The Boat, Mindarie
The Carine Tavern, Duncraig
The Last Local, Canning Vale
The National Hotel, Fremantle
The Stirling Arms Hotel, Guildford
Universal Bar, Perth
Victoria Park Hotel
Themed Venue Award
Bar Olé, Applecross
Bar Olé, Iluka
The Brass Monkey, Northbridge
Har Bar, Dunsborough
Seven Sins Perth Hills, Roleystone
The Galway Hooker, Scarborough
Wild West Bowling, Orana
Barlow Park Gets Upgrade, Increases Capacity
Cairns’ sports and entertainment stadium Barlow Park is temporarily closed as early work begins work on a major upgrade.
A new grandstand increases seating from 1,700 to 5,000, there’ll be better entry and ways to walk around the venue, new food, beverage and accessible facilities, and new landscaped spaces and gathering areas.
It is one of the first six projects approved for funding by the Australian and Queensland Governments for use during the 2032 Games.
The others were the Sunshine Coast Stadium, Logan Indoor Sports Centre, Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre, Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre, and Redland Whitewater Centre.
Live Nation, American Apparel, Partner for New Music Talent
American Apparel, through its parent company Gildan Brands signed a multi-year deal with Live Nation Australia Official to be its Apparel Partner.
The deal covers Live Nation’s emerging-artist platforms Ones to Watch and Next On, its live venue network, and Spilt Milk festival.
American Apparel will provide custom merchandise, commercial support and national exposure for emerging artists.
The brand will become Presenting Partner for LN’s discovery platform Ones to Watch (OTW), activating on-ground with custom merchandise featuring the OTW lineup, helping amplify the profiles of developing acts.
Next On is designed to reduce commercial barriers for artists by providing access to Live Nation’s venues, production and marketing support. American Apparel will provide every Next On artist with a $500 apparel voucher, an artist gift pack, and editorial on its platform.
American Apparel will bring back its StAArt Up flagship for emerging creatives, providing $10,000 merchandise grants to four developing artists. A public vote will select one of them to perform at Spilt Milk on the Gold Coast.
Kristy Rosser, Senior Vice President, Media & Sponsorship ANZ at Live Nation said both companies shared a commitment “to supporting developing artists and creating opportunities to drive their careers forward.
“Together, we can help artists reach new audiences, amplify their visibility and build momentum in the moments that matter most. There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to what this partnership will achieve.”
New Stadium For Wollongong
In an update from Infrastructure NSW and Venues NSW, the $400 million redevelopment of the WIN sports and entertainment precinct will see the 28-year old WIN Entertainment Centre demolished.
In its place will be the state-of-the-art WIN Arena, with double the concert capacity of about 9500. The ‘Gong can bid for more major tours.
WIN Stadium gets a new northern grandstand and a reconfigured southern stand, with upgraded dressing rooms and lighting, and a sports capacity of 21,000.
The update stressed: “The redevelopment will transform the precinct into an integrated, vibrant and year-round destination, strengthening connections between the Wollongong City Centre, foreshore and surrounding cultural and recreational destinations.”
In early 2026, the precinct was expected to inject $550 million into ‘Gong’s economy a year.
Australia To Get YouTube’s Livestream Of Coachella Until 2030
Australians will continue to livestream both weekends of Coachella festival on YouTube until at least 2030.
The deal was extended globally between YouTube and the Californian desert festival’s promoter Goldenvoice.
YouTube doesn’t give out streaming figures, so we don’t know how many Australians watch.
But it says “millions” tune in from around the world through the festival’s YouTube channel. It hit a record high this year, it disclosed.
The Music previously reported sets by Ninajirachi and The Chats saw a 20% to 22% jump on Spotify streaming as a result.
Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube posted, “Over the past decade and a half, the Coachella livestream on YouTube has evolved from a single feed into a full interactive experience.
“It’s where millions tuned in to witness Beyoncé’s legendary ‘Homecoming’ set, where BLACKPINK made history becoming the first the first Asian artist to headline, and where Justin Bieber took fans on a nostalgic tour through his classic music videos this year.
“Fans at home can watch multiple stages with multiview, experience a set alongside their favourite creators, catch exclusive YouTube Shorts from artists backstage, and purchase festival merchandise and more, all on YouTube.
Over 600 million watched live content on YouTube every day through August 2026.
Lush 2.0 In Court-Ordered Liquidation
South Melbourne rooftop nightclub Lush 2.0 has been forced into liquidation after a Supreme Court ruling, the Melbourne Herald Sun has reported.
However Lush Rooftop & Bar at Keilor Park, and Lush Social House at Port Melbourne, continue to operate.
Lush 2.0 opened in December last year in a launch featuring sports cars and live snakes.
Speaking to the newspaper, franchise’s founder Arjun Reddy blamed his choice of South Melbourne, citing crime – four break-ins and smashed windows in the past six to eight months – and business being “really bad.”
Liquidators Sean Wengel and Rashnyl Prasad of William Buck were appointed by the Supreme Court after a debt claim from Melbourne-based public relations firm Kick Off Communications.
Coyote’s Roadhouse Brings Country Yee-Haw To Sunshine Coast
Queensland venue operator Hallmark Hospitality has brought Coyote’s Roadhouse to the Sunshine Coast.
The Ocean Street site in Maroochydore previously housed Solar, which closed after 15 years in February citing escalating costs and lessening food and beverage sales.
The new 500-capacity country and western saloon offers live music on two stages, line-dancing, country style food and a mechanical bucking bull.
Hallmark Hospitality worked with award winning Gold Coast-based Space Cubed Design Studio to ensure every detail was looked at to make it look and feel authentic.
Hallmark Hospitality Director Cade Hopman stated, “From the moment you walk in we have an installation of 50 Ariat boots hanging from the ceiling and heaps of country themed artwork including a range of taxidermy mounts which are commonplace across North American dive bars.
“There’s also a dedicated Games Hall which will house the venue's signature mechanical bull alongside country-themed pinball machines and the old pub classic Ring The Bull.”
Sand Hill Road Forks Out For Old Colonial
Melbourne-based Sand Hill Road, one time owners of live music powerhouse The Espy in St. Kilda among other venues, has splashed $6.55 million on The Old Colonial in Fitzroy.
The 478-capacity space on the Brunswick Street strip with a 3am licence has facilities for live music with indoor and outdoor entertainment areas. The 1854 vacant pub went on the market in May after a $13 million refurbishment.
Gold Coast Gets Comedy Club
The Gold Coast Comedy Club launches on October 1, staging every Thursday night at Illusions, Surfers Paradise (opposite the Cavill Avenue tram stop).
It is the brainchild of founder and programmer Amy Young (who was visiting New York and realised Surfers needed a comic’s club), comedian, and radio identity Sean “Flan” Flanagan and magician Matt Hollywood.
Flanagan, better known for his on-air role at 102.9 Hot Tomato and 92.5 Triple M Gold Coast, will play the club’s host and frontperson.
According to Young, it will feature emerging and touring international names.
Spotify Expands Its Reserved Ticketing Program
Spotify has added three more features to its Reserved Ticketing Program. Based on users’ listening habits, it holds tour tickets to buy before they go on general sale.
Now, users get personalised share cards which can be posted on social channels, pre- and post-show setlist playlists, and a single in-app destination for their Reserved content.
King O’Malley’s, The Dock, Win Canberra Awards
Live music venues King O’Malley’s and The Dock Kingston took out wins out of 49 winners-are-grinners before 400 industry and community leaders at QT Canberra at the 2026 AHA (Australian Hotels Association) ACT Awards for Excellence.
King O'Malley's in City Walk, which trumped the Best Entertainment Venue category, showcases bands and acoustic acts through the week.
The Dock, with live music on weekends, won Best Sporting Entertainment Venue.
Blues On Broadbeach, Q Music Trails: The Outback, Up For Tourism Awards
Blues On Broadbeach and Q Music Trails: The Outback were just two music-themed events nominated in the November 6 Queensland Tourism Awards on the Gold Coast.
The free Blues On Broadbeach, which won Major Festivals and Events in 2025, is estimated to draw a total of 150,000 to 170,000. Of these, 13,500 are tourists, generating 140,000 visitor nights over its four days. It injects $33 million into the Gold Coast economy, according to producer Experience Gold Coast.
Presented by the Queensland Music Festival, Q Music Trails: The Outback has generated $25 million in economic impact across regional and remote Queensland since 2023.
The 2026 event drew a record 7,650 attendees – including 2,339 visitors – stopping at eight destinations.
The fifth edition, just announced, will take travellers on a 16-day self-drive adventure through seven outback Queensland communities from May 8-22 2027.
Organisers said, “Spanning 1,400km from Charleville to Mount Isa, the trail combines live Australian music, community events and iconic outback experiences, giving road trippers the chance to explore some of Queensland's most remote and fascinating destinations.”
Also nominated for tourism reasons are live music showcasing Wonga Beach Hotel and Pinnacles Airlie Beach, as well as the cabaret and burlesque Dracula’s.
A Few Things From Overseas
Apple this week (Monday September 28) opened a 600-seat live music venue in London’s Battersea Power Station, with Elton John playing the first show.
Apple Music Hall comes with a rotating or customizable 38-foot stage, a spatial sound system of 48 speakers surrounding the audience, two recording studios and a broadcast control room. Artists who play there leave with a Spatial Audio recording and multi-camera video to use for promo purposes.
Coming through October are Troye Sivan, Burna Boy, Chase & Status, Skye Newman, Baby Keem, and Arlo Parks. Charli XCX is scheduled for December 3. Some shows may also be broadcast globally, hopefully to Australia.
The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which sold 2.66 million tickets at 48 stadium concerts in Latin America and Europe this year, has now hit US$1.07 billion (AU$1.52 billion). It winds up in Asia, with 17 stadium dates booked until early November.
Pollstar says he now joins Taylor Swift and Coldplay as three concert headliners to hit the $1 billion (AU$1.42 billion) mark from one tour. Swift’s The Eras Tour made $2.98 billion (AU$4.24 billion) in 2023 and 2024 from 10.2 million tickets from 149 shows. Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres Tour, which ran over 3.5 years, made $1.52 billion (AU$2.16 billion) from 223 shows.
Music Business Worldwide made the point that non-English-speaking artists now account for 30% of Live Nation’s top 50 tours – but 47 of the top 75 international markets lack modern arenas to host them
Two years ago, 10 million fans in the UK queued to get tix for Oasis’ reunion. On their 2027 world tour dates, they have introduced new rules for UK fans. None of the 38 stadium shows will have general sales, just through registration on their website.
Fans had to offer three optional cities to attend. Successful applications were picked at random over the weekend. Prices are £71.5 (AU$134.820) to £266.60 ($502.73), resale has to be that price. In 2025, tix were going for £11,000 ($20,742) on Viagogo and £119,000 ($224, 400) on StubHub within hours.
Indian megastar Diljit Dosanjh who set new attendance records in Australia for an Indian act last year selling 90,091 tix and grossing US$12.9 million (AU$18.3 million), has now made history in England.
He is the first ever Punjabi singer to headline Wembley Stadium, drawing 90,000. He starts his shows shouting “Punjabi Aa Gaye Oye!" or “The Punjabis have arrived!”
Royal Hotel Saved
Perth’s Royal Hotel, which features bands, DJs, and acoustic sets, has been saved from liquidation, said WA Today. Creditors accepted a $850,000 deal to keep it trading.
According to the masthead, “Administrators Jack James and Paula Smith, from Rodgers Reidy, estimate the company owes about $3 million. The tax office is the main creditor, with administrators estimating it is owed $2.4 million.”
Limerick Arms Back On Market
Five years after buying it as an investment for $5.3 million, Irish social and cultural group The Celtic Club is putting live music and entertainment venue The Limerick Arms in South Melbourne’s Clarendon & Park Streets back on the market for $4.5 million.
It is marketed by Boston Brokers Hospitality Group as being in an affluent area with a large Irish population, has a renter locked in until 2039 who pays $230,000 a year and runs the bar, has a 3am licence, is triple frontage, and has plans for future rooftop activation.
Night Time Association Calls Out Over Oxford Street Raids
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has called out police behaviour on raids in June and September on LGBTQIA+ venues on Sydney’s Oxford Street strip.
It wants the NSW Government to urgently intervene to bring policing practice into line with its own night-time economy reforms.
The latest targeted venues including Arq, Palms, The Beresford, and Kinselas, with reports of an estimated 18–20 cops in the raid.
NTIA Vice-Chair James Thorpe said it was “extraordinary” that the operation occurred just 24 hours after Sydney MP Alex Greenwich convened a roundtable meeting on night-time and queer culture, attended by the Minister for the Night Time Economy, 24 Hour Economy Commissioner, NTIA and industry.
“Hours later, the Police were back on Oxford Street in force,” said Thorpe. “That is an extraordinary disconnect between the Government’s Vibrancy agenda and what is actually happening on the ground.”
The NTIA called on the Government to adopt an engagement-first licensing model, publish evidence-based criteria for Police applications against venues, appoint a dedicated Nightlife Assistant Commissioner within NSW Police, create a protected channel for reporting Police conduct, and introduce tighter criteria governing the use of drug detection dogs in licensed premises.
NSW Police described the operation as “intelligence-led”, aimed at disrupting drug supply, antisocial behaviour and other offences.
Thorpe pointed out, “These are legitimate businesses employing thousands of people and providing an important part of Sydney’s cultural and social infrastructure.
“When you put 20 Police officers into a gay nightclub, search patrons and disrupt trade, you don’t just affect a policing operation. You affect the viability of a business, the confidence of its patrons and the relationship between the LGBTQIA+ community and Police.”
Business leaders have warned Oxford St’s night-time economy is at risk after police raids resulting in “terrified” patrons and half-empty venues.
New Festival #1: After Hours
Canberra’s latest music festival After Hours is the result of a partnership between the ANU and the ANUSA (Students Association). The open air event is on Saturday October 17 from 5pm to 10pm. Genesis Owusu, Jungle Giants, and Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers are joined by a host of ACT acts.
New Festivals #2: Dingo Music & Arts Festival
Dingo is a festival in NSW’s Northern Rivers (October 8 to 11) heavy sprinkling on jazz and with leftfield selectors, performance artists, chefs and thinkers. Most of the action is in Bangalow although some events are in Byron Bay.
Festival director Si Jay Gould says Dingo has the vibe that is unique Bangalow. It is headlined by Hiatus Kaiyote with London’s Kokoroko, Philadelphia selector Rich Medina, DJ Coco Maria, Nai Palm, Miss Kaninna, Harry James Angus, and Barney McAll.
The name Dingo comes from the 1992 Rolf de Heer-directed Australian movie about how US jazz player Billy Cross (using Miles Davis’ voice) and his band have to make an emergency landing on a remote airstrip for repairs.
While waiting, they play an impromptu set for the locals. One of them is a young John “Dingo” Anderson who is transfixed. At that moment, he decides to become a jazz musician, and makes it his mission to go to Paris to learn under Cross.
12 Meltdowns!
Kym Tuckwell-Cvek, ex-owner of Townsville nightclub La Vida pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in the Townsville Magistrates Court. The next court date is November 9. She chided authorities for having to wait since December to get some evidence from police.
The decision by Andy Pobjoy, boss of the new Geelong venue Honky Cat Saloon to stand as a Liberal candidate for Geelong at the November elections had repercussion for the club. Wildfire Craft BBQ, which ran the kitchen, has pulled out hissing, “We sell BBQ not votes.”
The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) has banned Jake Samuel-Brennan for five years from running a licenced venue. It found the former owner of OG’s Kitchen & Bar in Cronulla, Sydney, had last year kept harassing four employees with hundreds of phone calls and inappropriate messages.
Valor and Pride (V&P), which operates Central Bar and Kitchen in NSW’s Hunter Valley, found itself literally in the poo when appearing in the NSW Supreme Court.
It had been battling landlord Ord Developments since last October over leakages in the toilets and refused to pay full rent because the stench was upsetting business. V&P took it to court over Ord’s threat to terminate their lease.
But the court found the lease made it clear that it was V&P’s duty to keep the sewage a-flowing, and ordered it to pay $128,000 in back rent.
Melbourne’s Carbine Club sent an apology to its members over comedian Nikki Osborne’s crude set, which it said “fell well short of the standards our members and guests rightly expect” at a pre-AFL Grand Final luncheon.
They booked Osborne for genre and diversity reasons and, apparently, got sexual innuendo and porn jokes.
The fan who got booted from Jason Derulo’s September 17 Brisbane Entertainment Centre show for allegedly slapping a patron for dancing was identified by the Courier Mail as 21-year old Gold Coast nurse Jayda Punter.
She was on probation, after twice pleading guilty to assaulting staff at licensed venues. The Derulo footage, which went viral, saw the crowd gleefully chanting “Na-na-na-na, hey he-ey, goodbye” as she was getting the royal roust.
Townsville businessman Shawn Andersen has begun a campaign to get 1000 locals to invest $4,500 each to rebuild the Great Northern Hotel for $4.5 million. The one time music venue was recently burned to the ground.
“This is not a request for money. I simply want to know whether the support exists,” he said.
But the Townsville Bulletin chided him for not revealing he had previously pleaded guilty to financial dishonesty charges. Details on the campaign website showed there was public interest in putting money in.
27-year old Gold Coast rapper Ribby247 (real name: Riley Jarvis Poulson) appeared at the Southport Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to 13 charges including possession of dangerous drugs including cocaine, a set of knuckle dusters, and refusing to unlock his devices for police in contravention of a warrant.
He was at the time on a community service order after pleading guilty to bashing his nemesis at Burleigh Heads in July 2024.
21-year old drug dealer Marc Bounassif who violently stabbed a man at Melbourne’s Revolver Upstairs nightclub for telling him his ketamine was “no good” and warned another patron not to buy his drugs was jailed for four years.
DJ Rodge’s concert at the White Bay Cruise Terminal in Sydney was interrupted when a brawl involving 15 people broke out and a man was glassed and hospitalised, apparently over a dispute over a roped-off VIP section.
Kevin Parker’s move to wear his Fremantle Dockers top at a Denver, Colorado gig with major sponsor Woodside’s name blackened out reignited wider calls for the team to drop the gas giant which has been its partner for 15 years.
Police are investigating a suspicious fire which gutted the former Austral Picture Theatre in Collingwood, Melbourne on the weekend. Squatters had been occupying it, and fireys had been called a number of times before.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
