Music lovers of Melbourne, there’s a brand new live music venue headed your way, described as “your new home of craft beer, music, and late night mischief.”
Introducing Forester’s Beer & Music Hall, which is set to open in Collingwood at the start of next month after completing renovations to host a large selection of boutique beverages and a large capacity, as Beat points out.
The venue will boast a 4am license on weekends as well as 50 taps offering a range of 32 unique craft beers, as well as promising to host “live music ’til late.”
Forester’s is actually situated at 64 Smith Street, at the former home of A Bar Called Barry ,a popular two-storey nightclub that typically hosted late-night dance parties on weekends well into the early hours of the morning with a selection of DJs.
As its moniker and the presence of craft brews on tap would suggest, Forester’s Beer & Music Hall is adopting a very different approach for its clientele. Details are scarce, but the venue has locked in its grand launch to the public for Thursday 11th September at 9pm. Further details are scarce at this stage, but as images of the new fit-out demonstrate, it’s an exciting new addition to Melbourne’s live music scene.
(Forester’s ‘XXL Bar’ before & after renovations. Source: Instagram)
(An early look at the venue’s stage. Source: Facebook)
Forester’s Beer & Music Hall is the latest in a string of new additions to Melbourne’s live music scene in recent months.
The new look Gasometer Hotel is enjoying its lush new fit-out after re-opening earlier this year, as well as having the honours of hosting the first Victorian all-ages gig in over 20 years this past July.
Earlier this month, Abbotsford’s open air cinema – the Shadow Electric – turned their bandroom into a full-time concern following a series of successful seasonal live music programs. Christening the occasion was a launch show featuring Rat & Co, Silentjay, and Lucianblomkamp with our Tone Deaf reviewer noting that the new bandroom had “a pretty high level of expectancy already set” for its future.
Then there’s Melbourne Pavilion, the Kensington-based events and functions centre that is set to re-launch next month with a new 2,250 capacity as it enters the live music market, seeking to fill the void left behind in the controversial closure of Bourke Street’s historic Palace Theatre in May.
[include_post id=”411625″]
The spate of new live music venues has also coalesced with the recent positive upswing for Melbourne’s live music scene at the recent news that the Victorian State Government are at last fulfilling their promise of enacting the ‘Agent of Change’ policy, where the onus is placed on property developers and residents new to an area to shoulder the cost of soundproofing rather than making it the responsibility of targeted venues.
regulatory reforms to protect Melbourne’s inner-city venues from noise complaints and encroaching residential developments
After ongoing delays on long-held promises, the Melbourne live music scene is at last getting the protection it needs from noise complaints and encroaching residential developments as the State Government looks to implement the coveted Agent of Change policy.
“This means beloved pubs and clubs that are home to live music in Victoria will not be forced to close due to noise complaints from those in new apartment buildings or new houses next door,” said Victorian Planning Minister Guy of the legislative reforms. “This is by far and away the strongest planning regulatory reform in Australia that protects existing live music venues.”
