Whether it is a sticky dive bar, a crumbling pub, a romantic theatre or a flashy stadium, we all have a favourite music venue. It might be the place where you saw your first concert. It might be where you saw the show that changed your life (or maybe even played it). It might be the place with the best acoustics or the best staff.
It also might be gone. Australia has lost more than 1,300 live music venues and stages since Covid restrictions began, meaning that the scene for small to medium gigs shrank by one-third in just three years, according to a report from Apra Amcos last year. A recent Triple J survey found almost half of Australian artists had considered quitting in the preceding year partly due to a lack of performance opportunities.
We at Guardian Australia want to celebrate Australia’s most venerated and beloved music venues across the nation with a new series, beginning this week with the 117-year-old Enmore theatre in Newtown, Sydney. For the next few weeks, we’ll tell the fascinating history of the buildings, the legendary gigs and the heroic staff who have tended bar for yonks – as well as their struggles to stay open.
But we’d love to hear about your favourite Australian music venues.
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