The John Curtin Hotel, one of Melbourne’s finest live music venues, has announced that it will be shutting its doors later this year.
The news was broken on the venue’s official Instagram account: “The rumours are true. It’s with an agonisingly sad heart, that The John Curtin hotel’s time on this earth will come to an end.”
The post revealed that the reason for The Curtin’s closure is that the owners of the historic building have decided to sell “making way most likely for apartments.”
The current lease runs until the end of November. “Beyond that, we have no idea what the developers will have planned for us,” the post continued. “We will have a lot more to say on the matter down the line, but I assure you, we will go out with a BANG!
If you have never played but would like to, if you sold out the room and would like to do it again, if you want to claim your piece of history – bands NOW IS YOUR TIME. Once these restrictions ease we can party a bit more but until then, hope to see your faces over the bar at some point real soon – don’t be a stranger. We need you now more than ever.”
The announcement brought a shocked reaction from fans. “I’ve never played there, would love to be part of its history before it’s too late,” commented someone. “So many great memories for our community of musicians and friends. The people (especially you, Rusty, doubly-so), the band-room, the hospitality. What a loss,” wrote another.
The Curtin’s upstairs bandroom had become a favourite live music spot on Carlton’s Lygon Street. It was a prominent venue in Melbourne Music Week and on every second Wednesday it hosted Bin Night, a celebration of local music.
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From now until November, then, check out the great lineup of weekly gigs on offer at The Curtin and support a venerable Melbourne institution while you still can.
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