Inside the death of Adelaide’s night-life and live music scene as several clubs close
As shock nightclub closures and sudden festival cancellations continue to rock the state, experts weigh in with solutions to fix the issue. Have your say in our poll.
Lifestyle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Gone are the days of 20-somethings taking their paychecks to the local dive bar for a night of beer and loud guitars, or spending sweaty summers in tents at music festivals across the country.
This week, research by Music Australia has busted open the reasons behind sudden music festival cancellations, finding these are no longer rite of passage experiences for young Aussies.
Across the pond in the US, megafestival Coachella – once a completely sold-out event, popular with celebrities and influencers – is even reporting sluggish ticket sales among younger generations.
For most, they simply can’t stretch their budgets for it, and the same is ringing true for a night out on the town in Adelaide, admitted Hugh Scobie, co-owner of cult Hindley St bar and DJ venue Ancient World recently.
“Most people can’t afford to (even) spend that $50 on a night out,” Scobie told The Advertiser. “Raising JobSeeker and Youth Allowance to the amount recommended by the Australian Council of Social Service would help a lot.
“We lost a huge amount of our audience – young people and students whose main income is from Centrelink – almost immediately after interest rates, rents, groceries and petrol prices went up.
“Young people are our primary audience and nights out, seeing bands and socialising with their friends doesn’t seem to be affordable for them in the current economic climate.”
Gareth Lewis, co-owner of UniBar Adelaide, weighed in saying Gen Z were increasingly moving away from “going out” culture altogether.
“I am seeing younger people be more self-aware than ever before so a late drunken night on Hindley St might not be as fun to them as it was to my generation,” Mr Lewis said.
He added that SA needed to work harder to keep young people in the state by making venues and festivals more financially accessible.
“SA already has a problem retaining its young people.
“Venues and festivals in this state should be thought of through a population retention lens. “We already don’t have the culture of Melbourne, or the financial opportunities of Sydney, the climate of Brissie, so we need to do whatever we can to retain what we have and build on it and not just stop the drain but encourage creative people to call Adelaide home.”
Michael Keogh of the Gonzo Group, which runs hot spots Shotgun Willie’s, Memphis Slim’s, Cry Baby and Sugar, said the rising price of drinks due to the alcohol tax hasn’t helped coax young people to gigs.
“The price for a base spirit when I was 18 was about $8. Now, depending on which venue you go to, it can range from anywhere between $10 and $12,” he said.
And Aussies may even find the cost of a base spirit creeping towards $20 at some venues since February’s hike.
It’s no secret Adelaide’s night-life has taken a brutal hit in the last few months, with a spate of decades-standing venues forced to close abruptly.
Meanwhile, a fierce ground swell of live music fans are currently battling to protect CBD institution the Crown and Anchor from controversial development plans.
Other club owners have taken to social media to plead for customers as they struggle to stay open.
Here’s what they have to say:
CONFESSION
CONFESSION, a beloved inclusive live entertainment venue and basement bar nightclub in the heart of the Port, will close its doors this week after alcohol tax hikes gave the venue a “kick to the guts”.
Owner Shane Hyrhorec said the most recent cost increase was the “final nail in the coffin”, revealing his cries for help had gone unnoticed.
“We are in an economic crisis and businesses are crying out for support, our pleas have not
been answered. We hope to resurrect CONFESSION when we see the economy improve
and when governments listen, whenever that might be,” he told The Advertiser.
“I am deeply concerned for all the performers and staff who will be without work owing to this situation. My heart goes out especially to those band members and performers with disabilities, who face a significant challenge in finding alternative employment due to the scarcity of accessible venues in Adelaide,” he said.
Crown & Anchor
While not directly related to the cost of living crisis — nearly 16,000 people have signed an online petition to “Save the Cranker” from being closed down as a gig venue amid controversial development plans.
Live music fans and local musicians, including The Superjesus frontwoman Sarah McLeod, have issued impassioned pleas to protect the venue that has done “so much” for local live music.
“Crown and Anchor is an institution and we can’t afford to lose any other live music venues in Adelaide,” McLeod told The Advertiser.
The Cranker’s proprietor Tom Skipper wrote on Instagram: “Our history is not just in our walls and our floors.
“We are privileged to have had some of Australia’s best bands, including Tex Perkins and the Superjesus grace our stage, and to have assisted in launching the careers of Bad//Dreems, the Grenadiers and so many more.
“We want to see Adelaide develop and grow, but not at the expense of live music and it is critical we preserve venues so the next generation of Australian musos can get their start.”
This week, Greens MLC Robert Simms will move for the Malinauskas government to formally oppose any demolition of the ‘Cranker’ in a submission to the State Commission Assessment Panel, which will determine whether to grant planning consent for the project.
The move is supported by a dedicated ‘Save The Cranker’ Facebook group now garnering more than 6500 supporters.
As revealed by The Advertiser, Singapore-based purpose-built student accommodation developer Wee Hur Holdings Ltd has lodged plans for multistorey student accommodation for the Grenfell St venue.
The heritage-listed, Victorian-era building cannot be knocked down, but the proposed “partial demolition and adaptive reuse” of the site has thrown the pub’s business operations into doubt.
My Lover Cindi
My Lover Cindi is among the SA hospitality businesses saying survival in today’s cost-of-living crisis is increasingly difficult, as people cut costs and stop going out as much.
“In Adelaide, hospitality operators generally rely on the busy summer season to get through the notoriously quieter winter months, but this year due to the cost of living and mortgage/rent increases late last year, summer did not provide that buffer,” co-owner Rachel Hosking said.
The well known “queer utopia” in Pirie St is struggling after a quiet summer and is pleading with its patrons to “pay it forward”, buy drinks at the bar and give it another go.
Its electricity bills doubled from $2000 per quarter to over $4000 over the past 12 months amid a statewide cost-of-living crisis hitting pubs, clubs and cafes.
Edinburgh Castle
One of Adelaide’s oldest pubs and a once-lively gig spot shut its doors in February after falling into liquidation – just over two months after its grand reopening.
The historic Edinburgh Castle, on Currie St, was closed for more than five years, before it was relaunched in December 2023 under new operators, Jatin Malhotra and Rohit Kapur.
But the venue, which was renovated with two new bars and revamped beer garden, was forced to close again in February.
At a creditors’ meeting, it was noted that Trident House Pty Ltd, the entity operating the venue, was “unable to pay its debts”.
Ancient World
Co-owner of cult Hindley St bar Ancient World Hugh Scobie told The Advertiser there was no doubt there’d be more closures on the West End party strip as owners are forced to respond to wholesale alcohol prices going up.
“It’s just one thing after another, I don’t know how much more the market can take to be honest,” he said, adding that the uncertainty is a constant threat to his business.
“We understand a lot of people are doing it tough at the moment,” Mr Scobie said.
“Keep coming out if you can, keep trying to support independent venues.”
Ancient World has been feeling the pinch for months, appealing to social media in November 2023 in a post prompted by the closure of Enigma, 1000 Island and Wnderland nearby.
“It’s hard for us to share, but we are also feeling the heat of these same issues,” it read.
“We have made it through the lockdowns and harsh restrictions … We really hope to make it through the aftermath that has brought on such hard financial times for everyone.”
Red Square
One of Adelaide’s best-known nightclubs shut its doors for good in March.
The operators of Red Square on Hindley St announced the club would close on March 9 with a 24-hour non-stop farewell party.
Club management took to social media to reveal the shock closure after “22 record-breaking years”.
“The time has come to say goodbye to a Hindley St icon. Red Square will be closing its doors this March,” the club owners wrote on Facebook.
“The street has changed dramatically in recent times, and all good things must come to an end.
“Red Square has been at the very heart of Adelaide’s club scene for over two decades; hosting countless international acts and starting the careers of many local DJs and MCs.
“Thank you to every single one of you who came through these doors.”
Fat Controller
The owners of North Terrace nightclub and live music venue Fat Controller Club shut down effective immediately in December 2023, blaming “industry uncertainty” for the decision.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Fat Controller Club,” said a post on the club’s social media accounts.
“The past few years have been a challenging journey, and despite our best efforts, the ongoing uncertainties within the industry have rendered it unviable for us to continue operations.
“To everyone who joined us and contributed to Fat Controller over the last eight years, we extend our sincere appreciation.”
Fat Controller played host to several big-name music acts over the years, including Boy George and Kristian Nairn, aka Hodor from Game of Thrones.
Fat Controller’s announcement in the final weeks of 2023 came after nightclubs Hades Hula House, Super California, 1000 Island, Wnderland, Precinct and live music venue Enigma said goodbye, reaching a devastating 12 in 12 months milestone.
Groovin’ the Moo
Groovin’ the Moo, scheduled to hit the Adelaide Showgrounds on April 25, was cancelled Australia-wide just two weeks after its line-up announcement.
Set to feature Spice Girls icon Melanie C, The Kooks, Wu Tang’s GZA and Aussie rock band Jet, the regional festival said ticket sales hadn’t been “sufficient to deliver a regional festival of this kind” in an Instagram announcement on February 14.
Vintage Vibes
Vintage Vibes festival was due to go ahead at Tomich Wines at Woodside, in the Adelaide Hills, on January 27 and 28, but organisers took to social media two weeks out to announce those dates had been scrapped.
International headliners Rudimental and Groove Armada were set to line up alongside local acts DMA’s, Meg Mac and Cub Sport.
Organisers cited “increased pressure on supply chains” and “shifts in economic climates” as reasons for the move.
It came around the same time Coastal Jam and Falls Festival 2023/24 were canned.
Next came uber-popular Aussie festival Splendour in the Grass, which pulled the plug in March having secured Kylie Minogue, Future and Arcade Fire as headliners.
The news cast doubt over the future of Adelaide’s Harvest Rock festival, held by the same promoter Secret Sounds.
However, the South Australian Tourism Commission said there was no indication the state government-backed festival would be impacted by Splendour in the Grass’s cancellation.
Music Australia’s Soundcheck report this week found ticket buyers aged 18 to 24, once the most enthusiastic group of festival goers, have dropped from 41 per cent in 2018–19 to 27 per cent in 2022–23.
Locally, rising alcohol taxes coupled with the cost of living crisis keeping young Aussies at home on weekends have been blamed for the devastation of our night-life.
MPs, hospitality advocates and venue owners alike have been sounding the alarm this year with desperate calls for intervention.
Greens spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who is chairing the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Cultural Policy, said we need to act fast to keep our vibrant scene alive.
“Adelaide’s venues are the beating heart of our festivals, culture and live music scene – but more needs to be done to keep them alive and open.
“The live performance industry has been struggling to get back on their feet since it was decimated by Covid. Now the cost of living crisis is making things harder again.
“Both the costs of running events and the costs of tickets for consumers are making it a very difficult environment. We can’t wait for more closures and cancellations, we must act now to support this vital industry.”
Meanwhile, Music SA CEO Christine Schloithe recently warned SA’s cultural vibrancy is under siege, with the local music industry facing total collapse.
“If we don’t work very hard, very quickly to shift the settings, we are at risk of losing something that is incredibly unique in South Australia,” Ms Schloithe told The Advertiser.
She said there was a missed opportunity to bolster population growth by encouraging a thriving cultural scene, believing that successive governments have “forgotten” the breadth of jobs created within the arts.
“We need to be having a much larger conversation about the identity of our city and how we want to live in our city,” she said.
More Coverage
Originally published as Inside the death of Adelaide’s night-life and live music scene as several clubs close
I found the Cook Islands’ best-kept secret
Rarotonga’s untouristed interior reveals a paradise that is lost on most travellers.
I flew 1600km for love and got ghosted at the airport
Model River Blake flew to meet a man she had been chatting to online for three years, only to be left stranded at the airport.