Setting the stage for live music in our City
Published on 20 August 2025
The City of Maribyrnong’s live music scene brings joy to our community, fosters creativity and helps bring people together, and we want to hear from our community about how we ensure it remains an integral part of our City.
Footscray in particular is recognised as a hub for diverse music and nightlife, from iconic venues like Kindred Band Room and Footscray Hotel, to broader community institutions like the Footscray Community Arts and the Hyde Street Youth Band – providing places for people to come together for a shared love of music community.
Council has drafted a Live Music Action Plan to help support and grow live music in the City of Maribyrnong and we want to ensure the key outcomes reflect what you want – and what would like to see us prioritise and action first.
The draft Plan builds on what Council heard from residents during community conversations to support the development of the New Horizons: Creative Maribyrnong 2030. During this engagement, we learned that respondents love live music in our City and they wanted to see more of it.
The four key outcomes in the draft Live Music Action Plan are:
- Outcome 1: A music friendly City with clear pathways for venues, artists and industry professionals to operate, develop new work, perform and prosper.
- Outcome 2: A live music scene, which reflects the City’s rich cultural diversity and builds belonging, wellbeing, and participation across all communities.
- Outcome 3: A thriving night-time economy powered by live music in traditional and non-traditional spaces.
- Outcome 4: Melbourne’s inner west becomes known as the go to destination for discovering new talent and experiencing high quality, diverse and innovate musical performance.
Mayor, Cr Pradeep Tiwari said there is much to love about Maribyrnong’s live music scene, for what it is, and what it could become, with the community’s help.
“Live music helps brings people together to share in collective experiences, strengthen bonds between residents, and reinforces a sense of belonging. Beyond entertainment, music can offer a powerful platform for self-expression, especially for young people, helping them to find their voice and share their stories in a meaningful way.”
In addition to hearing your thoughts on the draft Plan and if the key outcomes are in line with your thinking, we also want to know how you think Council can support live music in our City.
Share your feedback and find out about upcoming in-person conversations by midnight Sunday 21 September 2025 at yourcityyourvoice.com.au/livemusic.
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