In another battle lost by the wellbeing of live music, iconic Melbourne concert venue The Palace Theatre will be closing its doors for good after complications with new owners.
The Palace Theatre opened its doors way back in 1860 and has gone through many different evolutions to become what it is today. To date The Palace Theatre has been Apollo Theatre, Metro Nightclub, Metro Theatre, St James Theatre and Brennan’s Amphitheatre but after a refusal to renew leases from new owners Jinshan Investements the legendary theatre will simply be no more.
Plans were made to hopefully relocate the theatre but lack of support from government has left those hopeful punters doubtful. A statement released by Palace management has stated;
“Palace Theatre management had requested assistance from both state and local government to seek alternative locations to ensure the ongoing success of the Victoria’s thriving live music industry and to continue to provide live music, regretfully, to date, this avenue of relocating the operations of the Palace Theatre has been unsuccessful.”
The statement went onto say what kind of a legacy the venue is leaving behind;
“The Palace Theatre team is extremely proud to have created a world-class and much sort after venue over the past eight years and to have been a part of its 150 year history,” said the statement. “This venue has hosted many hundreds bands which have entertained over two million patrons during these eight years.”
It’s a sad day for Melbourne live music and anyone who has attended a show at The Palace Theatre.
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It's been a sad week for Australia's live music scene as venues close left, right and centre, but there is a silver lining.
