Can Brisbane Become Australia's Live Music Capital? Director Of New Live Space Says Yes

What's Golden, Brisbane's newest entertainment space housed within The Tivoli, will host its first booked show tonight. 

With a capacity of between 250 and 280, the new stage sits in the back corner of The Tivoli at the end of the main bar. Curtains will separate the space from the main auditorium and The Tivoli has revamped its box office into a coffee nook/craft beer bar to extend the venue's opening hours. 

Designed by Helpmann-nominated woodworker Aaron Barton and styled by immersive and poetic designer Sarah Winter, What's Golden has reportedly been in the works for a couple of years now.

"The concept of utilising our foyer space as another venue had been in our heads for the past couple of years actually," co-owner and creative director, Dave Sleswick, tells The Music.

"We decided at the beginning of this year that we were going to move forward with it and the reason being is I think we wanted to keep the possibilities open for The Tivoli of exploring new territory. We wanted to be able to have more in-depth conversations with a broader part of the music industry and of the performing arts industry. Having such a large space of 1,550 can be limiting sometimes. So we started plotting out what that looked like. And we also kind of feel a responsibility [because] we're very lucky to own a space. And when you own and you have creative space in an industry that doesn't have a lot of resources, we kind of felt the obligation to make the most of it and to utilise it as much as possible."

Sleswick grew up in the Tivoli. He has a "long deep connection with the place and with the people that [he's] grown up with there" and is a fierce supporter of the Brisbane scene.

"I think Brisbane has always been really proud of its music scene and I think it's always been a producer of brilliant musicians that have gone on to do exceptional things around the world," he says. 

As for whether he thinks it can become the country's live music capital?

"I think the answer to that is, yes," Sleswick speculates optimistically. 

"But it does require more than just industry and venues and musicians doing their thing. It requires the people to come out and get social and to be a part of it and to buy tickets and to support the industry. So I think we've got to be careful about what the city can handle and what we're asking of people. But I think at this point in time, it's all super exciting."

Check out photos from the What's Golden launch event below.