Melbourne’s inner-northern live music venues and social scenes

What is it about?

In this Riff article, Samuel Whiting speaks to live music advocate and Melbourne music industry professional Rebekah Duke. The interview focuses on the small live music venues of Melbourne’s inner-northern suburbs and the social scenes that inhabit them, exploring the role that these spaces play within the city’s broader live music scene in Australia’s cultural capital. The significance of these venues is reflected within Duke’s first-hand experiences, emphasizing ideas of vernacular cultural history and place-making.

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Why is it important?

The significance of these venues is reflected within Duke’s first-hand experiences, emphasizing ideas of vernacular cultural history and place-making. Live music is a communal experience that draws people from disparate backgrounds and demographics together to share in an event. It incentivizes likeminded individuals to gather in locations like a band venue when they would usually have few other reasons to socialize, and ‘provides a sense of community that is not present when listening to music alone’ (Black, Fox and Kochanowski 2007). This interview demonstrates that live music enthusiasts rely on Melbourne’s innernorth venues for social opportunities as well as cultural experiences. They function as meeting places for a diverse range of people, and within these spaces new social bonds are formed and strengthened—these connections between participants are easily facilitated because they are driven by a similar motive to engage with local live music.

Perspectives