Festivals & Venues: January 25
DEVELOPERS SWARM AS MELBOURNE’S FESTIVAL HALL GOES UP FOR SALE
Another day, another Melbourne venue lost it seems – but this time it’s on a much larger scale. Festival Hall was recently put up for sale by owners Stadiums Limited, and Melbourne City Council has already received a proposal to build two 16-storey towers at the site. Built by John Wren in 1915, the iconic venue has played host to some of the world’s biggest bands, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
“I draw the analogy [that] an old boxer facing up to a younger, bigger, stronger opponent is going to get well and truly pummelled and with the opening of Margaret Court Arena, and Hisense [Arena] to a lesser extent, we’re being pummelled,” Stadiums Limited director Chris Wren said when making the announcement.
Heritage Victoria is considering an application to save the site by listing it on the state’s heritage register.
STATE OF TRANCE ADDS NAMES
Armin van Buuren’s branded State of Trance (held on April 21 at Exhibition Halls, Sydney) announced the addition of Gaia, MaRLo, Ørjan Nilsen, Ruben De Ronde and Will Atkinson.
The Sydney stop of the Trance, Progressive and Psy festival is part of a larger world tour, and extension of the five times #1 DJ in the world van Buuren’s radio show which now has a reach of 84 countries and over 37 million listeners each week.
NEW MANAGEMENT FOR SYDNEY’S BALD FACED STAG …
Last March when Ulladulla Property Services Ltd, fronted by Scott Mackenzie, took over management of the Bald Faced Stag in Sydney, the first thing it did was to get rid of 18 poker machines and use the space to expand the stage to showcase bands.
The fact that it was out of the lockout zone gave it hope that the Leichhardt venue could be a thriving business. They specifically supported hard rock and emerging bands.
However on January 20, the pub’s owner Marvan Hotels had terminated Ulladulla Property Services for allegedly falling behind in its rent and allegedly not paying some of its acts “who are the lifeblood of the venue.”
Marvan Hotels, which managed the 188-year-old place for two years before Ulladulla Property Services, has resumed overseeing management and bookings.
All existing bookings will be honoured and, the operators stressed, “Whilst under new management, all future suppliers obligations will be met and The Bald Faced Stag Hotel looks forward to a renewed relationship with the music industry.”
…AND ADELAIDE’S ROYAL CROQUET CLUB
The Royal Croquet Club, one of the venues of the Adelaide Fringe, has undergone an ownership change.
Founders Stuart Duckworth and Tom Skipper ran into financial problems after trying to expand in China and not receiving the support they were promised.
A new company 1835 Royal Croquet Club Pty Ltd – run by 1835 Capital Managing Director Jason Di Iulio and Cibo Espresso co-founder Roberto Cardone – now has its intellectual copyright and has hired Duckworth as Creative Director.
Adelaide City Council gave the new entity a five-year licence to run the venue after Di Iulio said his company had injected $1 million into the RCC and would cancel the 2018 event if not granted the licence.
NEW SYDNEY HOME FOR PSYCH FEST
Bad Vibrations Records’ Psych Fest will upgrade its Sydney home to the Manning Bar while its debut in Melbourne will be at the Tote.
USA’s Flavour Crystals join Italy’s New Candys playing Australia for the first time along with 20 Australian acts including Davey Lane (You Am I), Flying Colours, Glitoris, The Lovetones, Lazertits, Moaning Lisa and The Demon Parade
Both events will feature three stages and DJs and a dedicated all-ages space.
The City of Sydney is a principal partner of Sydney Psych Fest, which began in 2013.
Organisers said, “We would like to publicly acknowledge the generous support and collaboration received from Black Wire Records, Young Henrys, Possum Stomp Management, LISTEN and Music NSW.”
SATELLITE MOVES TO VILLAGE GREEN
The Village Green Hotel in Melbourne’s Mulgrave, the live music hub of the south-eastern suburbs, has invited the Satellite Lounge to move into its premises.
From February 2, the 18-month Satellite Lounge will move from the Wheelers Hill Hotel to VG’s 200-capacity The Cabaret Room which has its own entrance.
This weekend, the Satellite Lounge will farewell its old home with sets by Geoff Achison & The Soul Diggers and The Justin Yap Band (tonight, January 25) and Disturbing the Peace Band presenting its tribute to the Vanda-Young songbook (27).
The first two shows at the Village Green Hotel are the Ramble Tamble Creedence Show (Friday 2) and Dylanesque – The Bob Dylan Story (10).
CHILLOUT REMAINS FIVE-DAY AFFAIR
LGBTQI ChillOut festival in Daylesford, Victoria, has temporarily abandoned plans to extend to a 10-day event after it failed to get extra funding.
State government funding of $50,000 a year for three years is for marketing and sustainability, while Hepburn Shire Council’s support is currently only until 2020.
ChillOut will retain its five-day format but will add on more events, and also doing autumn and spring versions as well.
The festival draws 25,000 over the five days, with a spate of same-sex marriage vows expected.
ILLAWARRA FOLK DRAWS 10,000
This year’s Illawarra Folk at Bulli Showground drew 10,000 – about the same as last year – with its offering of live music, poetry, comedy and dance.
The festival estimates crowd numbers from its “keg o meter”, that is, how much beer was consumed.
PORT BEACH GARDEN BAR READY FOR BANDS
The Port Beach Garden Bar, formerly the Railway Hotel Beer Garden, has undergone a makeover, complete with its own dedicated sea container bar.
It relaunches the first week of February with three shows – Kim Salmon, The Kill Devil Hills and Timothy Nelson (Friday 2), Hideous Sun Demon, BOAT SHOW, Shit Narnia and Trolley Boy (3) and Lucy Peach, Demon Days, The Hunting Birds, The J.A. Rogers Band and Airline Food (4).
Booking is through Sweet Mate Music.
IN THE ROUND BACK AT LEADBELLY…
Heath Media is bringing back the In The Round Sessions at Leadbelly Newtown on Valentine’s Day.
It is inspired by the sessions at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, where four singer/songwriters get together to play their own songs, songs from each other, some covers – and tell a few stories along the way.
The fifth event in the series, which runs on the second Wednesday of every month, will take place on February 14. curated by Sam Buckingham and featuring Timothy James Bowen, John Vella and Hannah Acfield.
Other upcoming curators are Lozz Benson (March 14), Marissa Winters of Winters End (April 11) and Hannah Robinson (May 9).
…AND COURTYARD SESSIONS BEGIN AT SEYMOUR CENTER
Heath Media also runs the Courtyard Sessions at the Seymour Centre over ten weeks.
Tomorrow (Friday January 26) features Victorian artist Anna Smyrk with Ethan Conway from 6-9 pm.
More details on the ten-week program at the website.
JAILING OVER ALBANY PUB FIRE
Former licensee Graeme Cooper, 36, who orchestrated a fire at the 127-year-old Premier Hotel in Albany, WA in May 2016 to collect the insurance, has been jailed for ten years by the WA Supreme Court
The fire caused $1.5 million damage.
Five men were part of the plot, with CCTV footage showing Cooper struggling as he was being dragged along the venue hallway between two masked men who “forced” to deactivate the CCTV security system.
The other men have already been sentenced to jail time ranging from three to five years.
BLUES AND ROOTS BACK IN NEWCASTLE
Newcastle’s Blues and Roots Festival returns for a third year at The Wickham Park Hotel.
Playing are Groove Examination feat, Justin Ngariki, Nick Raschke, Robbie Long and Ben Elliot, Papa Pilko and the Binrats, Jason Kafoa, Blues Exile, Hell’s Kitchen, The Reoffenders, Roy Rose, Merewether Fats Blues Band, The Blues Bombers, Plastic Voyage, Helena Kitley Band, Annie O’Dee and the Hotshots, Diplazar and Paris Grace among others.
NORTH FREO PUB CRAWL GETS PREPPED
Saturday, January 27 will see a score of Perth acts converge on both sides of Tydeman Rd for four stages across the Railway and Swan for the annual North Freo Pub Crawl
Perennial NFPC headliners The Love Junkies return to host the Railway Hotel stages, with FOAM, Rag n’ Bone, Pat Chow and Jacob Diamond plus punk rockers The Shakeys, Regular Boys, Yomi Ship, Cosy (formerly Mung Dahl), electronic duo Hi. Ok, Sorry and newcomers Trash Doves alternating between the Railway’s stages.
For the first time swamp-blues veterans, The Floors will curate the Swan Hotel’s Basement and Lounge.
The Swan will host sets from The Volcanics, Nerve Quakes, Last Quokka, The Sperts, Zerodent, The Kuillotines, Heavy Flow and a solo set from Bells Rapids’ Tanaya Harper.