The Old Bar

Fitzroy’s The Old Bar is an approximately 175-person live room, built around a downstairs bandroom and bar with an art gallery upstairs. It runs music seven nights a week, giving the calendar the pace of a neighbourhood hangout with a stage at its centre. Its useful distinction for a showgoer is range: local bills can move between punk, hardcore and rock, country, folk and experimental music, while DJs and free sessions fill late and off-peak slots.

A century-old pair of shopfronts finds its stage

The two Johnston Street buildings date to 1903 and served a succession of commercial uses, including a dairy and a haberdashery, before their life as a music bar. Andy Tannahill opened The Old Bar in 2001; ownership moved to Paul Jakovcic in 2005, followed by the operators of Northcote venue The Afterdark in 2007. In April 2026, the room marked 25 years with seven mystery-gig nights: lineups surfaced at 9am each day, entry came via door sales, and the programme began with a Morbid Mondays edition. That birthday format captures a room comfortable giving regulars a reason to turn up before every detail is known.

The room on a show night

Artists and promoters have a direct band-bookings contact on the venue’s site, a practical signpost for local bills. Rock, punk and hardcore form a durable core, with country, folk, experimental sets and DJs expanding the frame. Music happens downstairs in the bandroom; upstairs, the Old Bar Gallery hosts exhibitions and occasional events, including launches paired with bands. A courtyard gives gig-goers space away from the room, and the bar remains open daily until 3am.