After years of uncertainty, beloved Adelaide live music venue Fowler’s Live may have found a way to keep its doors open, if a proposed new international partnership comes to fruition.
The venue has been fighting for years to hold onto its lease, but a proposed deal that could see Fowler’s team up with venues in Austin, Texas would go a long way in applications to extend its future at its current West End location.
The discussions have been spearheaded by Adelaide industry veteran David Grice, who met with Austin Music Venue Trust at SXSW in March.
While it’s all still “a little bit formative”, Fowler’s Live owner and operator Peter Darwin is hoping to have the alliance in motion by the end of the year, with an exchange program that would see Adelaide bands play in one of three Austin venues and then Austin bands playing at Fowler’s.
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“We’re trying to come up with a few bits and pieces to keep us in front of some of the [politicians] as far as our lease and tenure here goes,” Darwin told The Music.
“If there’s any pre-existing arrangement with cities and venues, it just makes it a little bit easier for communication and potentially getting a few of the artists back and forth and audience development.”
At this stage, Fowler’s only has a lease until the end of the year and if they can’t get it renewed, Darwin is unsure of its future.
“We have been looking for a while, and it’s a little bit hard to replace the space, particularly because we do licensed all ages [gig] so much that it needs to be specific.”
Fowler’s Live currently has gigs booked until September, with Moose Blood, Mammal, Strung Out, Obie Trice and more scheduled to appear.
