You’d have to go to New Orleans or Austin to find what we have right here

“There’s really nothing else like that in Australia. You have to go to areas in New Orleans and Nashville to find anything similar globally, where you have so many music venues so near to one another.”

Kris Stewart, the CEO of QMusic and the former artistic director of Brisbane Powerhouse, isn’t talking about an entertainment precinct in Melbourne or Sydney. He’s talking about Brisbane’s own Fortitude Valley.

The Valley properly comes to life after dark.Credit: Paul Harris

We spoke ahead of Bigsound, the largest music industry gathering in the southern hemisphere, happening in Brisbane this week.

“Bigsound is an international industry event that we’re really fortunate happens in Brisbane,” Stewart said.

“But one of the main reasons it does happen in Brisbane is because of what Fortitude Valley can offer.

“We can do 20 to 25, as many as 30 different stages and music venues across Bigsound … and they’re all within a few hundred metres of each other.”

You don’t have to venture far from the Valley’s main drag to see what he means.

Walk down Brunswick Street Mall and you’ll quickly spot Fortitude Music Hall, co-owned by former Powderfinger bassist John “JC” Collins and envisioned as the spiritual successor to the old Festival Hall.

The largest ballroom/theatre-style venue in Australia is flanked by smaller but equally adored venues such as Black Bear Lodge, Blute’s, The Sound Garden, Ric’s and The Outpost Bar.

Around the corner on Wickham Street, multi-storey, heritage-listed venue The Prince Consort has been grabbing attention since 1888, and a few minutes by foot away on Warner Street is alternative music haunt The Brightside.

‘New York doesn’t even have what we’ve got here. Even in New York you’ve got to get on a train to get from one venue to another.’

John Collins

Close by, local favourite The Zoo calls Ann Street home while further towards Newstead, you’ll find The Tivoli and The Triffid (also co-owned by Collins) selling out shows.

Collins, a vocal advocate for what the Valley offers bands and music lovers alike, recognises Brisbane’s potential to become an internationally renowned music city.

“New York doesn’t even have what we’ve got here. Even in New York you’ve got to get on a train to get from one venue to another,” Collins said.

The closest he’s come to experiencing the Valley’s concentration overseas is the entertainment district in Austin, Texas. Like Brisbane, Austin also hosts an annual music showcase and conference – South by Southwest.

Revellers at The Tivoli in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.Credit: Adam Ferguson

“Austin is considered the live music capital of the world, right? They’ve got a million people. That’s half the population of Brisbane,” Collins said.

The council might not be envisioning Brisbane as the next Austin (yet), but there are indications they care about our live music scene and see its cultural value.

As the chair of Brisbane’s community, arts and nighttime economy committee, councillor Vicki Howard knows how important live music is in enhancing the economic development of the city.

“We were the first in Australia to designate the special entertainment precinct [in Fortitude Valley]. That was done to support those local live venues,” she said.

In 2021, Brisbane council launched the music festival Brisbane Winter Sessions, to get people back out and among the city’s live music scene post-pandemic. It returned this year.

“Our idea is to have events happening that will flow into other events and keep that interest in what’s happening in the Valley,” she said.

While the council seemingly recognises the commercial and cultural value of the Valley’s live music scene, Stewart also applauds the venue operators themselves.

“You get the sense that these venues are run by people that love music, it’s a real labour of love for many people who do that,” Stewart said.

“A lot of these venues could be turned into run-of-the-mill retailers you see everywhere and would make more money, but they wouldn’t be special. They wouldn’t be unique.

“I think that’s what people really love and why people really want to be part of the music community in Fortitude Valley.”

Collins points to a shared view among owners and operators that Brisbane doesn’t want to lose what it has, but rather nurture and grow it.

“There’s also the feeling that it’s not really super competitive with people trying to crawl over other venues and shut them down,” Collins said.

“When I opened The Triffid for instance, it was about finding space between The Zoo and The Tivoli so that we can all exist.”

For Howard, Fortitude Music Hall, which opened during the pandemic, encapsulates the Valley’s growing and collaborative community.

“The Fortitude Music Hall was a big turning point for us,” she said.

“To have something like that right in the heart of Brunswick Street Mall is super special and I think that gives encouragement to other people to think about what the Valley needs.”

In nine years’ time, all eyes from all corners of the globe will be on Brisbane for the Olympics. How good would it be if, by then, we were seen as an international music city with one of the best entertainment precincts in the world?

That doesn’t need multibillion-dollar investment or complicated infrastructure – the foundations are already right there in the Valley. It just needs continued support and celebration from people who love music and seeing live gigs.

Get the inside word on the news, sport, food, people and places Brisbane is talking about. Sign up for our City Talk newsletter here.