Castlemaine's Theatre Royal has been home to some seriously good gigs. Photo via Wiki Commons
JD Future Legends & Noisey present THE NEXT ON TOUR series of summer gigs. Hitting six metro and regional cities around the nation, THE NEXT ON TOUR will showcase some of Australia’s rising musical talent. Every show is free but you need to RSVP now!
Anyone who's been on a trip around Australia has probably landed in some pretty bleak pubs with varying qualities of chicken parmas. But other pubs are nailing more than just the "Modern Australian" menu and programming some very on-point live gigs.
Here is a few doing it right…
Prince of Wales Hotel, Bunbury, Western Australia
Prince shows are becoming legendary. Grab some friends and head south from Perth for some good bands and fun times. Playing over the the last couple of months have been Perth acts Verge Collection, Shit Narnia, The Love Junkies and Abbe May.
East coast reps The Smith Street Band and Kingswood are the last couple of big ones to make the two-hour trip well worth it, helping the town earn the nickname Funbury.
The Eastern, Ballarat, Victoria
Oof! These guys have been packing out their bandroom with shows by The Gooch Palms, Shocking Pinks, The Ocean Party and Scotdrakula. Word is a big Bedroom Suck gig is coming up in April featuring label faves Totally Mild and Terrible Truths. There might even be a charter bus to take city slickers out there. This might even be a scoop I shouldn't be sharing. Anyway, hot tip: keep your eyes peeled for that announcement.
The Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, Victoria
One of the most majestic regional venues, The Theatre Royal has been around since 1854. The establishment runs as an independent cinema alongside hosting some great gigs. Coming up in March is a Milk! Records showcase featuring Courtney Barnett, Fraser A. Gorman and East Brunswick All Girls Choir to name a few. Uni Bar & Rad Bar, Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong is pretty much it's own city. Well it is officially but whatever – Uni Bar and Rad Bar are the obvious choices of venues that are nailing it. Uni Bar has hosted acts ranging from The Drones, USA's Calexico, to Thee Oh Sees, and Client Liason. Rad Bar might tickle your DIY vibe a little more with Viet Gong, Die! Die! Die!, and King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard all playing sets over the last couple of months.
The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba, Queensland
West of Brisbane the place to go is The Spotted Cow. The iconic corner pub has been going since 1892 so it's as much of a staple as you can get. When it comes to bookings it plays it a little safe but pulls some fairly large acts like Frenzal Rhomb, Megan Washington and You Am I.
This article is presented in partnership with JD Future Legends.
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