If you love live music and have lived in Melbourne's north sometime in the last 20 years, then you’ve probably been to Bar Open. The Fitzroy live music venue has been championing musicians (especially emerging musicians) for the past 22 years, having hosted everyone from the Presets to Horns of Leroy.
Like many small venues, however, Bar Open has been hit hard by the shutdowns. Even as they are allowed to begin unshuttering, capacity and space restrictions can make it difficult for grassroots venues to reopen in a viable manner, not to mention the fact that operational costs have continued while the venue has been closed.
Bar Open co-owners Jon Perring and Sam Crupi have released a video plea and a GoFundMe asking for Melburnians help in ensuring Bar Open can, well, reopen. In the video, Perring and Crupi are joined by musicians who’ve called Bar Open home at one point, including Clare Bowditch and Parvyn Kaur Singh of the Bombay Royale, each detailing the significance of the northside music venue. Watch the full video below.
The bar is currently looking $70,000 to open and stay open, with the GoFundMe live now. That money will go towards getting the bar and live music program operating again, with the venue saying: “Bands are dying to play. Punters are dying to see bands. We're dying to facilitate that and we need people like you to save this beating heart of old Brunswick St.”
As an added incentive, those who donate to the GoFundMe can also score some rewards, including Bar Open T-shirts, the chance to tag a brick and even the opportunity to be featured on the Bar Open wall of notoriety. You can donate to help Bar Open reopen via its GoFundMe page.
Here's everything you can and can't do in Victoria right now.