In 1975,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

's first FM radio station began broadcasting from a studio at the University of Queensland Student Union. 4ZZ (later

4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associ ...

) became a catalyst for the development of original music in the city. Bands such as The Saints,

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...

, gerrymander and the boundaries, The Riptides and The Laughing Clowns established an ecosystem for alternative music that continues to flourish. Brisbane's nightlife today is a thriving and varied mix of pubs, clubs, themed bars, and various other venues. There are two main areas of interest: The "City" ( CBD) and the "Valley" (

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

). While the city typically consists of venues catering to those with a more traditional taste in music or atmosphere, the Valley typically offers a drastically different, more cosmopolitan selection of places. The Brisbane City Council has tried to preserve the Valley as an entertainment precinct with the introduction of Valley Special Entertainment Precinct: :Following consultation with residents, music venues and commercial business operators within Fortitude Valley, the Valley Special Entertainment Precinct commenced on 1 July 2006. Its introduction is one of the first steps in achieving the aims of the Valley Music Harmony Plan.

Music

In the early 1990s, many young people were either studying or unemployed. Sharehousing with friends in old Queenslander-style housing of inner-city Brisbane, pre-gentrification, was the cheapest option to move out of home.

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

identified strongly with film and music, but most especially music. Independent, alternative music was on the rise, globally and locally, and Brisbane's '

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

' music credentials were noteworthy. It was the birthplace of pioneering public radio station 4ZZZ in the mid-1970s, and produced famous bands such as The Saints and The Go-Betweens. John Collins

All kinds of music can be found in Brisbane's thriving live scene, from

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, pop and hip hop. Most venues are found in the Valley and surrounding areas since the popular Mary Street and

Brisbane Festival Hall Brisbane Festival Hall was an indoor arena located on the southern corner of Albert Street and Charlotte Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It operated from 1910 to 2003, before being demolished to make an apartment building. History T ...

city venues were closed. Notable venues in the Valley include The Zoo and Ric's Cafe which both opened in 1992, The Arena, The Tivoli, The Fort, The Step Inn, The Empire Hotel, Black Bear Lodge, and The Press Club. The Rev closed down in September 2006. The Alley Bar closed down in March 2008. Brisbane is home to a number of music festivals including

Future Music Festival Future Music Festival was an annual music festival featuring Australian and international artists held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia and as of 2012 also Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The festival was usually held in ...

Stereosonic Stereosonic was an annual electronic dance music festival held in Australia in November and early December. Stereosonic was held in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne, attracting attendances of up to 200,000 patrons nationally feat ...

and Soundwave,

St Jerome's Laneway Festival The St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, commonly referred to as Laneway, began in Caledonian Lane, Melbourne, Australia, in 2005. Beginning as predominantly an indie music event, the festival grew in popularity and expanded to five Australian citie ...

and Valley Fiesta.

Livid LiViD, short for Linux Video and DVD, was a collection of projects that aim to create program tools and software library, software libraries related to DVD for Linux operating system. The projects included: * OMS * GATOS * mpeg2dec * ac3dec In 20 ...

was also a home-grown alternative rock music festival held annually from 1989 to 2003. Brisbane's live music scene has long been supported by independent record stores such as Rocking Horse Records which originally opened in 1975, Kill the Music and Skinny's Music, and Brisbane music can be seen and heard online at Before Hollywood or Raw Audio - online TV for Brisbane Music. ''Rave Magazine'' was a free weekly magazine which covered the entertainment scene in Brisbane from 1991 to 2012. The

Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra The Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) is a community orchestra based in Brisbane, Australia, which performs a wide variety of orchestral works. The BPO performs several concerts each year at venues including the Brisbane City Hall, and the ...

is a community orchestra based in Brisbane established in 1999.

Popular music

Brisbane is featured in the song ''It's Hot in Brisbane but it's Coolangatta'', recorded in 1953 by Gwen Ryan, Claude Carnell's Orchestra and additional vocals from Doug Roughton's Hokey Pokey Club.National Film and Sound Archive
Does your town have its own song?
/ref>

Venues

The

Queen Street Mall The Queen Street Mall is a pedestrian mall located on Queen Street in the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The mall extends approximately from George Street to Edward Street, and has more than 700 retailers over of retail spa ...

in the CBD offers nightclubs and bars, as well as the

Conrad Treasury Casino The Treasury Casino, also known as The Treasury is a casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It also houses a hotel, 6 restaurants, 5 bars, and a nightclub. The casino is operated by Star Entertainment Group. One percent of the casino's g ...

. Nightclubs in the city include Strike Bowling, a nightclub with bowling lanes, and the lounge bar

Jade Buddha The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace is a jade statue of the Gautama Buddha sourced from northern Canada in 2000 and later carved by Thai artisans. It is made of polar jade, which is a kind of nephrite. It stands 2.7 metres high, sitting on a so ...

. More conventional bars include The Victory. Mana Bar is cocktail bar and video gaming lounge in Fortitude Valley. West End, a cosmopolitan suburb about south-west of the CBD, plays host to a wide variety of street dining, music, bars like the Rumpus Room, the Lychee Lounge, Uber, The HiFi, Ill Manor and others. RSL clubs and local pubs around the

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

occasionally have live acts. Most major

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or musical band, band. Concerts are held in a w ...

are held in the

Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by ASM Global. The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of ...

Boondall Boondall is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Boondall had a population of 9,217 people. It was formerly known as Cabbage Tree Creek (after the creek that flows through the area). Geography Situated approximat ...

, the

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) is a convention centre in Brisbane, Australia. It is located in South Brisbane and occupies most of the block formed by Grey Street, Melbourne Street, Merivale Street, and Glenelg Street. The centre ...

adjacent to the

South Bank Parklands The South Bank Parklands are located at South Bank within the suburb of South Brisbane in Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list ...

or the centrally located

Riverstage Riverstage is an outdoor entertainment venue in Brisbane, Australia. The venue occupies a 2 ha site within the City Botanic Gardens and has a capacity of 9,500. The Brisbane Festival makes regularly use of the venue. Riverstage regularly feat ...

. Other major events (including raves) are hosted at the

RNA Showgrounds Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is located at 600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, Queensland, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and was established in 1875. It hosts more than 250 events each ye ...

(due to its massive size and under-utilization when not hosting the

Ekka The Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show, and it is held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, but it is more commonly known as the ...

) and more recently,

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

has hosted a number of music concerts. The Princess Theatre features indie acts. The

Brisbane Powerhouse Brisbane Powerhouse is an arts and cultural hub located in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm, Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of performing arts, visual arts, festivals, and free community events. The fir ...

is an iconic venue that hosts a range of music events.

Cloudland The Cloudland Dance Hall, originally called Luna Park, was a famous entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was demolished in 1982 and the site was subsequently developed into an apartment complex. On its ...

was a famous Brisbane music and dancing venue located in

Bowen Hills Bowen Hills is an inner north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the Bowen Hills had a population of 3,226 people. Geography Bowen Hills is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Mayne is a neighbourhood within the sou ...

. The venue hosted thousands of dances and concerts in the 50s, 60s and 70s and was demolished in 1982.

hosted performances for many major tours by visiting overseas artists including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

on 28 June 1964.

Singers and musicians based in Brisbane

References

External links