In news that’s music to our ears, Chippendale pub and live music venue The Lansdowne Hotel has just had its trading license extended to 5am! Is the tide finally turning against Sydney’s tyrannical lockout laws?
The Lansdowne is the second Chippendale venue to be granted an extension on its trading license, after Regent Street bar Freda’s scored one back in May.
To celebrate this great news, the Lansdowne is hosting a party in collaboration with international dance outfit A Club Called Rhonda, when they visit Australia for the first time ever this month.
The club is a monthly party based on inclusivity, gender expression and open-mindedness. It has previously toured Berlin, London and San Francisco.
Lansdowne co-founder Jake Smyth said,
“A Club Called Rhonda is one of the most thrilling and important parties in the world. Permissive, inclusive, wild and liberating served up with zero excuses and maximum love…
“The Lansdowne can’t wait to throw down with these amazing humans until the sun creeps over the horizon.”
The pansexual dance party will include DJ sets from local and international acts that are soon to be announced. Expect outrageous costumes, laser lights and plenty of glitter.
Carly Roberts, founder of Picnic Touring and Events, told Broadsheet:
“[There’s] a passion for welcoming everyone: the club kids, the queer community, the dancers, the music nerds, the fashion crew; a passion for sound, lighting and decor … and a passion for good music – from across all the cool genres.
“[It’s] a riot of style and substance that I’ve been inspired by for a long time … it seems their purpose is to inspire and create a safe, expressive spaces – with some pretty epic attention to detail.”
After The Lockouts
This is good news for Sydney’s flailing nightlife scene. The City of Sydney recently released figures showing that Sydney has seen 500,000 fewer young people visiting each year since the lockout laws began in 2014.
The number of primary-purpose music venues in the city has also halved since 2014, going from 22 to just 11. Additionally, in June, researchers from the University of Sydney revealed that the lockout laws haven’t had any effect in curbing violence on Sydney’s streets.
We can only hope that these license extensions, and the latest round of grants to 10 local businesses, are a sign of changing times.
The City of Sydney’s council submission stated:
“The approach has led to significant unintended negative impacts such as a retraction of the economy by 7.1 per cent, with a potential opportunity cost of 2202 jobs and $1.4 billion in turnover,”
“[The laws have had] significant negative impacts on Sydney’s cultural life, our reputation as a global city, our businesses and our tourism industry”.
A Club Called Rhonda will run at the Lansdowne Hotel on Saturday, 24th August from 9pm until 5am. The Dolphin Hotel will host an afterparty the next day from 7pm to 9pm.
FIB in association with its film division is soon to release its latest feature length documentary:
After The Lockouts II – Gladysʼ War On Music.