St Kilda’s iconic Prince Bandroom, which was recently bought by a group known for redeveloping venues into gastropubs, has just announced the replacement for previous booker Steve Kingi who promptly quit after the new management group took over the venue.
His replacement is Jamie Bennett who was the booker of Adelaide’s Rocket Bar for six years. “Many Melbourne journeys were chasing live shows and more often than not I ended up at The Prince Band Room. I am excited and humbled to now be part of this great live music venue,” Bennett said in a prepared statement.
Julian Gerner from new owners the Melbourne Pub Group has come under fire for his unwillingness over the last few months to guarantee the future of live music at the venue. In an interview with The Age when the sale was announced Gerner was quoted saying “We’re not entertainment operators … our focus is on food. We believe if we do good food, we’ll do good business.”
At the time it was announced that the first changes to be made would be a gastro-pub menu in the public bar, a new chef at the Circa restaurant, and turning Mink bar into a late night dinner spot with bar facilities.
However Gerner now appears to have changed his position slightly, ensuring that live music will continue in the complex if not the bandroom. “We want to support up and coming local bands so there’ll be live music every night in the public bar,” he said.
“The Bandroom has been, and is, an incredible space to see high profile, touring acts but the size of room makes it difficult to include emerging artists. This is a way for the venue to foster young talent, and engage with the community, seven nights a week. And it’s an exciting way to get that small band culture back to the Prince of Wales.”
According to an email sent around to promoters and booking agents yesterday the public bar will host 7 nights of live music starting late January.
