Brunswick Live Music Venue Stay Gold, and Neighbouring Pizza Parlour Ollie’s, To Close

Popular bar and bandroom Stay Gold has hosted thousands of gigs since opening in 2018, platforming young artists, and showcasing excellent local and international touring acts. The Brunswick boozer today announced its closure in an Instagram post, stating that it’ll call time on the corner of Sydney Road and Union Street when its lease is up on June 21.

The team, which also runs Thornbury bandroom Shotkickers, shared a short Instagram carousel announcing the closure and promoting a run of shows in June in the lead-up to a closing party on Saturday June 20. Shows scheduled before the close date are still in Stay Gold’s gig guide, though it’s unclear whether gigs after June 21 will be rescheduled.

Aran Tanaka, general manager of ownership group The Happy Horsemen, tells Broadsheet that adjoining pizza parlour Ollie’s will also close along with Stay Gold’s bandroom, but the team has plans to open something new in the not-too-distant future.

“We are looking at some fresh spaces. Stay Gold as a venue is saying farewell, so we won’t be relocating unfortunately, but live music is our passion and that won’t be simmering anytime soon,” Tanaka says.

Stay Gold’s closing parties in June include live music from Stimpies, Exhumed, Black Josh and Lee Scott, Origin, AM//PM, Press Club, Antiskeptic and more.

The venue’s bandroom has capacity for roughly 420 punters and often bridged the gap for local artists breaking out of the pub scene and onto the national touring circuit. It also hosted events for emerging artists and plenty of club nights, so come June there’ll be a hole in Brunswick’s live music scene at the southern end of Sydney Road.