While Melburnians have been spoilt recently with the opening of an array of venues in the city’s inner-north, Adelaide punters have experienced more mixed fortunes. Live music spots in the city of churches have faced increasing pressure from licensing regulations, while others have been forced to shut due to increasing
So the announcement of a new live music space for Adelaide’s CBD is sure to delight the city’s music fans. According to Adelaide Now, a new venue will take the place of the now derelict Adelaide bus headquarters as part of a new initiative from the Adelaide Fringe Festival, which takes place from February to March 17, 2013.
Appropriately named The Depot, it will be built between Adelaide Central Bus Station and the old bus premises near Franklin St and Grote St. It features a main concert stage with a capacity of 6,000 people each night, while a second indoor venue is set to open next door and will house up to 800 punters.
David Grice, entertainment director and boss of local live music venue The Promethean, said The Depot will look to reel in families with children’s activities during the day. “At night, the whole site will then morph into a more adult space for eating and drinking,” he said.“Projects that were historically in the ‘too hard’ basket are now eminently do-able.”
Meanwhile Adelaide Fringe Festival Director Greg Clarke said The Depot’s central location is crucial to its potential success. “People seem to be attracted to a whole range of activities in the one spot,” said Clarke. “It’s about meeting your friends, having a drink, something to eat, and seeing a number of shows.”
Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said The Depot fitted the City Council and State Government’s joint Splash Adelaide strategy for pop-up venues.
“It’s Council’s responsibility to help people achieve things and what we are now seeing is a whole pile of people, who would not have done anything before, feel empowered,” Mr Yarwood said. “Projects that were historically in the ‘too hard’ basket are now eminently do-able.”
As for the musicians themselves, singer-songwriter Delia Obst said she is looking forward to seeing the venue completed. She is one of a number of local and international artists will play the converted bus depot; “It’s a pretty ambitious project … I can’t wait.”
Earlier in the year, the South Australian capital was the focus of a push towards music and the arts after the State Governement hired Glastonbury music booker Martin Elbourne as its new Thinker in Residence.
“Music goes hand in hand with other creative things. If Adelaide is to thrive, it has to have a creative cluster. It’s musicians, it’s artists, digital companies… anyone creative,” Elbourne said at the time.
