Iconic Landsdowne Hotel to reopen after two years with new owners pledging to “bring live music back to Sydney”

AN ICONIC Chippendale music venue is getting a second lease on life thanks to new owners who are putting live music at the top of their agendas.

Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham outside The Lansdowne which will be reopening soon. Picture: Craig Wilson

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AN ICONIC Chippendale music venue is getting a second lease on life thanks to new owners who are putting live music at the top of their agendas.

The Lansdowne Hotel is set to reopen in June with work under way on a 400-capacity music floor and ground-level pub.

New owners Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham said their vision was to “bring live music back to Sydney”.

Some of the acts that have graced the stage at The Lansdowne Hotel over the years. Picture: Craig Wilson

“It’s an amazing live music venue that everyone loved back in the day,” Mr Graham said

“The whole idea is to give Sydney a room they can see live bands in and reinstate the Lansdowne’s energy.”

The venue has sat vacant since doors closed in August, 2015.

The Lansdowne Hotel in 2007.

The redevelopment comes after a proposal to turn the site into a music school was withdrawn by separate developers last year.

Mr Smyth and Mr Graham, who also run Mary’s Newtown and Paddington’s Unicorn Hotel, described the revamp as the “fastest three-storey pub turnaround we've ever seen”.

Mr Smythe said construction on the second-floor music space has involved installing sound proofing acoustics to reduce potential noise impacts on neighbours.

Stage Divers performing at the Lansdowne Hotel in 1993. Pic: Scott Wajon

The venue, which sits outside Sydney’s lockout zone, has a 3am licence Monday to Saturday and midnight on Sunday.

The owners said the reopened venue would not be serving “the $7 schnitty” offered back in the day, but promised an “improved” food menu for punters.

The duo hopes the June reopening marks the beginning of a revitalised music scene in Sydney.

Band Isis Ashton peforming at the Lansdown Hotel in 2002. Pic: Noel Kessel

“We’ve seen too many venues close in the past three years,” he said.

“The industry is really behind (the reopening) because they understand the importance of rooms like this,” Mr Smyth said.