Canberra music venue Shadows closes after two years
Andrew Heaney closed his Civic nightclub Shadows on Wednesday after two years of operation.
Shadows ran for two years and four months. The venue became a launching pad for Canberra's emerging music scene.
The venue charged no booking fees and took no cut from ticket sales. The venue made money only from the bar.
Musicians who started there include Babyhope. She is now on the lineup for major Australian festival Spilt Milk.
Local music producer and DJ Leo Gellibrand said Shadows opened doors for artists to start hosting events without any strings attached. He said this is simply unheard of in the music industry.
The venue was also seen as a safe space for queer people, women and musicians of colour. Heaney announced the closure on Instagram at 11pm Wednesday.
He spent the night fielding calls and messages from the community. He said money was the reason for closing.
Lack of parking, poor public transport access and ongoing construction in Civic made it unsustainable.
- Andrew Heaney
- Owner
- 2 years and 4 months
- Duration
- Civic, Canberra
- Location
- June 2024
- Purchased
Why it mattersCanberra's live music community has lost a rare venue that took chances on unknown artists and removed costs that usually block people from performing.
AustraliaShadows was one of several Civic hospitality venues to close recently as construction and changing habits reshape Canberra's CBD.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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