FIRST LOOK: You'll Be 'Blown Away' By New WA Live Music Venue The Aardvark

News last month that Fremantle's The Odd Fellow would be revived as a brand new dive bar focusing on live music was a welcome announcement, and by the sounds of it, the team behind The Aardvark have big plans in the works.

Occupying the Norfolk Hotel basement, The Aardvark is being promoted by longtime bartender and venue booker Mark Spillane and Gun Fever Music’s Greg Sanders, and with a wealth of experience between them, it’s not surprising they’re going big with the new endeavour.

“We want to create our dream music venue,” Spillane told The Music.

“In the long term, working with the team at The Norfolk, we want to build a real community around the venue and create an inclusive place that punters and bands feel welcome.

“We’d love for the venue to earn its place as one of the great small music venues in Australia.”

The new name pays homage to local legend Richard Utting, who used to own a restaurant in the space called Aardvark’s in the ‘90s, and while the layout remains similar to that of The Odd Fellow, punters can expect a different experience at The Aardvark.

“We want this to be a home away from home for both punters and bands,” Spillane said.

“For The Aardvark, the team at the Norfolk have adapted the bar side of things to match the music punters, focusing on value drinks plus the premium products.

“While the bar still has a big range of spirits and some cocktails for people who want to step their night up, they also have $6 Emu Export cans for the crowd who just want to have a few tins with their mates.

“Collectively we are also making a few changes to the layout of the space, introducing some booths where people can chill with and have a pizza and a beer and an arcade machine with a hand-picked selection of ‘90s classic games like Street Fighter and NBA Jam.”

First and foremost, The Aardvark will put live music above all else, with Spillane saying he’s “blown away by the high standard of acts" locked in for the coming month.

“When Greg and I sat down and talked about what we wanted to do with the music program at The Aardvark, we both agreed that diversity was something we really wanted to strive for.

“A mate of mine actually called me out on not booking diverse enough line-ups a while back. It really wasn’t on our radar then and thanks to her our eyes have been opened. Now it’s a central element of our booking policy.”

The Aardvark opens this Thursday, with a massive, free party that features Black Stone From The Sun, Big Orange, Kopano, Young Robin and DJ Billy Black.

Check out theGuide for all the details.