Sydney Has Just Lost Its Third Live Music Venue This Week

Sydney's live music scene continues to be heavily impacted by the pandemic, with news today of another venue shutting its doors.

As it approaches its 20th anniversary, Old 505 Theatre has revealed that its last event will be in March before they “hit stop and take a long breath”, stating “it is unlikely we will have a permanent bricks and mortar space again”.

“The past decade has been incredibly difficult for Sydney venues from lockouts, archaic regulation, pressures of gentrification and rising cost of business; but nothing has compared to the impacts we have felt this past two years,” owners Cameron Undy and Kerri Glasscock said via Facebook.

“We have worked hard to reimagine our offering, our business model and to just keep going. We teamed up with our friends at Sydney Fringe to share space, reduce risk and safeguard the venue; we have had tremendous support from the building trustees and Government that kept us going for the past 24 months, but the reality of operating in this environment for a third year is simply untenable.

“The new year’s wave of Omicron has thrown our sectors plans for recovery out the window, exposed our fragility and to be frank, is just too much. So we have made the decision to wrap up 505 and stop presenting work at the Newtown venue.”

Old 505 Theatre’s closure follows that of The Lansdowne Hotel and Giant Dwarf earlier this week.

In response to Sydney losing its third live music venue in just one week, Shadow Minister for Music John Graham has stated that “if we don't step up the support, Sydney will be unrecognisable."

“505, The Lansdowne and Giant Dwarf are all venues that survived the lockouts,” Graham said. 

“They did it by being energetic, creative and impossible to stop. This moment has brought them all undone. Sydney has been in the grip of a grassroots venue crisis. This is now one of its lowest points.

“It doesn't have to be this way. It is possible to back grassroots venues with the financial and regulatory support to keep their doors open, even in the face of lockouts, lockdowns and omicron.”