Adelaide’s Fowler’s Live forms groundbreaking sister city partnership with Austin venues

The Lone Star State is about to get a full-on taste of Adelaide’s sweaty live music scene.

Venerated music hub Fowler’s Live has entered into talks to form a so-called “sister city” partnership with like-minded venues in Austin, the Texas capital.

The alliance was announced today and has been in motion since Fowler’s reps met with the Austin Music Venue Trust at South By South West in March.

It’s early days, but among the two-way arrangements on the table come see homegrown musicians selected to head stateside through artist exchanges, plus venue exchanges and interactive, live streaming of simultaneous gigs. At this stage, at least three venues in Austin have been tipped to take part.

Managing Director of Fowler’s Live Peter Darwin comments, “Fowler’s is proud of what we have achieved to date and we see the potential for this partnership to have significant impact on furthering the careers of local musicians.”

Adelaide scene-builder and former Musitec Managing Director David Grice has worked with Fowler’s Live for some time now, assisting on special internationally-focused projects. This new arrangement, he enthuses, has “significant ramifications for music in South Australia.”

Established 15 years ago in the Fowler’s Building, the live venue prides itself as a platform for developing local acts before an all-ages crowd. It’s apparently the SA capital’s only consistent all ages licensed venue.

There are more “innovative plans” in the works, with further announcements to be made later this year, says the venue’s reps.

Fowler’s Building

“Part of our mission is to do things differently, and provide professional services that assist our industry to develop and grow,” adds Darwin, who spearheaded the foundation of the SA Music Awards.

“Technology is changing the way we experience live performances, and we want to raise the bar in how we can impact the live music experience. It makes perfect sense to build on Adelaide’s sister city relationship with Austin for the benefit of SA music.”

SA’s live scene has been undergoing something of a renaissance. In recent years, Adelaide earned the distinction as the first and only City of Music in Australia, is now a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

The Indie-Con launched last year in Adelaide, the second edition of which will take place next month in conjunction with The AIR Awards. British festival promoter and “live music thinker” Martin Elbourne published a report in 2013 on the “future of live music in South Australia,” the findings of which still resonating.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.