CrowdMateMelbourne · Venue
The Gem Bar
A small-capacity Collingwood pub room for rootsy local bills, vinyl DJs and barbecue-fuelled weekends.
- Upcoming shows
- 14
- Address
- 289 Wellington Street, 3066 Collingwood
- Phone
- (03) 9419 5170
- Next show
- Fri, 20 Nov 2026
About The Gem Bar
The Gem Bar is a small-capacity live-music pub in Collingwood, Melbourne, with a distinctive honky-tonk Americana setting: ranch-style furniture, Elvis tributes, a ragtime piano and a barbecue kitchen sharing space with the bands. Its scale suits close-range sets, where the audience gathers through the front bar and adjoining dining spaces instead of facing a formal concert hall. The regular musical thread runs through indie, rock, folk, roots and rock’n’roll bills.
A pub building recast for music
The story begins in 1875, when the site received its hotel licence as Steeth’s Family Hotel. Michael Curry took it on in the 1880s, giving it the Curry’s Family Hotel name; the building then received a major 1927 remake in a Mediterranean Provincial Revival style, with a hipped roof, tiled lower façade and pronounced eaves. Those layers remain part of a building recorded as individually significant within the City of Yarra heritage overlay.
The current chapter arrived in mid-2006. Owner Tonino Cordisco took over the former Curry Family Hotel and converted it into The Gem, building its identity around American rockabilly visual culture and Southern barbecue. The change gave a long-running neighbourhood hotel a new role as a bar, dining room and recurring live-music stop, while local usage still preserved the older Curry’s name.
How a show feels now
Programming is pub-scale and weekend-centred: local DJs play vinyl on Saturdays, while live acts commonly take the room on Friday and Sunday evenings. The musical fit leans toward guitar-led indie and rock, singer-songwriter and folk sets, plus rootsy and rock’n’roll-adjacent performers. Expect the front bar to be part of the gig experience, with a small dining room set back from it; upstairs brings large timber tables and a cherry-red bar for groups. Beer is central, with 16 taps listed by Broadsheet.
Sources
- All Hotel Data: The Gem — Collingwood Historical Society
- The Gem Bar and Dining — Broadsheet
- The Gem Bar — PBS 106.7FM
- The Gem Bar & Dining — Hidden City Secrets
Next 14 shows
- Fri, 20 Nov 2026 · 20:00 SHEOAK + Alex Hamilton, The Highway // Pollyman (solo) View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 21 Nov 2026 · 18:00 Angel Face // The Breadmakers // Mystery Band //Homemade Space Machine View in the CrowdMate app
- Sun, 22 Nov 2026 · 18:00 Oscar LaDell + Romaan, Shantael Raphael View in the CrowdMate app
- Thu, 26 Nov 2026 · 19:15 DIVERS + Ebop, Girl Version, Divers // Girl Version View in the CrowdMate app
- Fri, 27 Nov 2026 · 20:30 HANNAH KATE + Nat Pavlich View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 28 Nov 2026 · 15:00 Sour Worm + Gavin!, Gallerina, Sour Worm // Gallerina View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 28 Nov 2026 · 20:00 Jack Biilmann + Tig, Brett Wood View in the CrowdMate app
- Sun, 29 Nov 2026 · 15:00 Nick Carver + Jungle Jim Smith // Joshua Seymour // Uncle Quentin View in the CrowdMate app
- Fri, 4 Dec 2026 · 20:30 Back Pocket + Hercules, The Bricksjust announced View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 5 Dec 2026 · 15:30 COMETS + Bass Meadowsjust announced View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 5 Dec 2026 · 20:30 A.C Saunders + Grace Mitchell View in the CrowdMate app
- Sat, 12 Dec 2026 · 20:00 Grand Theft Anthems Party View in the CrowdMate app
- Sun, 13 Dec 2026 · 15:00 Riflebirds + Private Stash // Ted O'Neil View in the CrowdMate app
- Sun, 20 Dec 2026 · 15:30 Rocket Science + The Wraylettesjust announced View in the CrowdMate app
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