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Is there hope for Australian live music?

Ahh…Sydney. No matter what walk of life you come from, there are a few things us locals can almost all pretty much agree upon. An over inflated housing market, oppressive costs of living, and of course, Sydney’s shocking live music scene.

Actually, can we scrap that last one yet?

Call it premature, but I believe there’s many a reason (and statistic) to support the claim that Sydney’s live music and nightlife scene might actually be making a comeback. And while that’s not to say we’re the new Berlin (or at least, not yet), it is to say that maybe the days of dooming and glooming at our own pity party are nigh.

I’m calling it. Sydney is on the precipice of a live music resurgence.

Where have we come from?

Of course, to understand the current shifts that are happening in our ether, it’s first important to recognise the state of the scene over the past few years. Long story short, it’s been fucking dire. Akin to pretty much everywhere in the world, COVID threw a powerful hit at hospitality, festival and creative scenes.

Venue closures aside, NSW’s ultra oppressive regulations and lockdown restrictions made it essentially impossible for musicians to share their art. It forced creatives to make a living off virtual audiences found via social media and TikTok trends. And to this day, that’s still a phenomenon that’s never really gone away.

The result? From the beginning of the pandemic to late 2023, Sydney lost 1,300 small and mid-sized live music venues. That makes up for roughly one third of the entire industry. And while the statistics are mind boggling, they’re not necessarily surprising. This year alone, Splendour in the Grass, Bluesfest and Groovin The Moo all announced their indefinite cancellations. Organisers cited anything from weak ticket sales, to the cost of living, to increasing overheads associated with public liability insurance.

In other words, it takes two cents and a brain to figure out that in today’s day and age, organising a festival, or owning a bar, is no easy feat.

Where’s the change coming from?

With the plethora of new nightlife openings and release of lineups from Laneway and Australian Open this week, it’s easy to think all of this change has happened overnight. And like most things, that’s not the case at all.

Prominently, the removal of lockout laws in 2021 was a solid start. The deep rooted problems this legislation effected the very cultural fabric of Sydney, and really should be left as a conversation for another day. Nevertheless, the implementation of the NSW Vibrancy Reforms at the end of 2023 further served to bolster the emerging concept of a 24-hour economy. After years of friction with the state government, it appears there’s been a change of tune in favour of said ‘vibrancy’. Lol.

In essence, the reforms largely regulate noise complaints made by neighbours, who historically have derailed nightlife venues. They similarly established ‘Entertainment Precincts’ which actively encourage venues to host live music. Licensing and liquor regulations were also amended, with the effect of making it possible for hospo venues to actually do their job (i.e. trade).

And guess what happened? Just like that, venues in Sydney have increased by 84% year on year.

Now, obviously there are major financial wins for industries who’ve had it pretty fucking tough these past five years. It’s also great for musicians, the community, and even the economy as a whole. What’s most exciting in my opinion? It’s as if there’s been an energetic shift in Sydney’s approach to nightlife.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m still at war with the Bondi health freaks going to run club at 6am and sauna-ing by 7am. You’re 22, please do get over yourself. And I accept that the cultural shifts will take longer than I’d like to wait. But the reopening of venues like Chinese Laundry, Carousel and Calypso just in the past few months alone is a clear signal that maybe, just maybe, there’s hope for Sydney’s music scene.

These predictions are only being further confirmed with the announcement of festival sets from Charli XCX, Kesha, Kaytranada, Beabadoobee and Clairo all at the start of next year. And while it feels like our live music prayers have suddenly and unexpectedly be answered, trust me when I say it’s not happened overnight. Nowhere close.

We’ve gone from widespread festival cancellations and venue shutdowns one year, to some of the most impressive lineups and nightlife openings the next. How? The state government have finally done the work, and funded the resources. So really, there should be no surprise that it’s started to finally pay off.