Toowoomba; the heart of Queensland's Darling Downs region and Australia's largest, inland city finally has a live music venue of its own.
The Mort Estate Hotel on Toowoomba's well known Mort Street is the town's newest venue, offering hearty pub tucker, a wide selection of beers, wines and spirits and perhaps most importantly – live music. The venue has a first-class stage set-up with the latest in sound gear and a dancefloor that can fit between 600-700 revellers.
The space at The Mort prior to becoming a live-music room - Image © FacebookA live music venue of this size has been long overdue in Toowoomba, with residents previously having to venture 90 minutes to Brisbane or the Gold Coast to get their live-music fix. The Mort's owner, Simon Janetzki, says he jumped at the chance to open a venue of this type in Toowoomba. “Opening a live music venue in Toowoomba has always been a dream of mine,” he says.
“There has been a hole in the market for such a long time so when the opportunity came along we took it.”
Image © FacebookA live music venue like The Mort Estate Hotel ties in nicely with the city's growing and emerging artistic culture, which continues this weekend with First Coat (16-18 May), a festival that will launch at The Mort.
First Coat is a celebration of street art, music and culture featuring murals and pieces from international and local graffiti artists including: Askew, Madsteez, Does, Adnate, Alex Lehours, Alice Weinthal, Drapl and Numskull.
Image © FacebookMusic will be taken care of courtesy of Brisbane alternative-electronic-pop band Regurgitator, who will be playing their first show in more than two years, while other acts include Sydney emcee L-Fresh the Lion and Byron Bay's Desmond Cheese.
