<\/p>\n
Blah Bar, a venue that became a hub for Lismore’s independent music scene, has closed its doors after a short but influential run supporting emerging musicians, touring acts and all-ages live music.<\/p>\n
The venue \u2013 located at Eggins Lane in Lismore \u2013 was opened in late 2025 by brothers Pat and Eddie Stanton.<\/p>\n
Co-owner Pat Stanton said the venue\u2019s closure followed months of working to resolve planning and licensing compliance requirements.<\/p>\n
While he accepted the venue needed to meet compliance requirements, Stanton said the length, complexity and cost of the approval process ultimately made it financially impossible to continue operating.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have the money to keep going anymore,\u201d Stanton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been operating for a couple of months now with BYO and unfortunately alcohol is where you make your money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t take money off the bands because I don’t believe in that \u2013 they struggle as it is \u2013 they\u2019re the ones putting on the performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Stanton, he lodged a small bar development application in February and spent months working through planning requirements, including infrastructure contributions, fire safety requirements and alternative approval options.<\/p>\n
Stanton said the venue was unable to transition into its intended operating model while he pursued the required planning and licensing approvals, leaving it reliant on BYO arrangements.<\/p>\n
He said being unable to operate with a liquor licence reduced the venue\u2019s revenue and contributed to the financial pressure that ultimately led to its closure.<\/p>\n
Stanton said Blah Bar was created to help serve Lismore\u2019s music community and address the need for a venue that prioritised artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason my brother and I started doing this in Lismore is because of the community and we knew that this was something the community wanted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rather than charging musicians to perform, Stanton said the venue\u2019s model allowed artists to keep ticket and merchandise revenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were providing a space that had music equipment for the bands to use, we weren’t charging them anything, we took no money from the door,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe literally did food sales and the band took the rest of the door and merchandise sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that approach helped attract independent artists from across Australia and overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur opening night we had a Swedish punk band play who were doing an Australian tour,\u201d Stanton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reach that we\u2019ve achieved without any marketing…I\u2019m not a marketing person \u2013 this has all been word of mouth, literally word of mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Liminal band member Alako Myles, the closure represents the loss of what he described as a rare and consistent home for independent music.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically without that space, the future of the live music scene that we had going is just totally uncertain again,\u201d Myles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the destination, so it’s going to be pretty huge to not have that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myles said the venue had only just started to realise its potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sucks as well because it really started kind of kicking off really when you think about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was already getting so much support and attention and the fact that they got to where they did is just amazing, like with the regular turnout and the regular bands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it’s just going to be really hard to work out how we go about things in the future…\u201d<\/p>\n
He said, in his experience, Blah Bar had built a reputation for supporting musicians by providing an affordable and accessible space for performers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t force bands to pay overhead or anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was literally just, they get the space, they get to do whatever they want and make however much money they can from just the turnout basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s really rare.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blah Bar, a venue that became a hub for Lismore’s independent music scene, has closed its doors after a short but influential run supporting emerging musicians, touring acts and all-ages live music. The venue \u2013 located at Eggins Lane in Lismore \u2013 was opened in late 2025 by brothers Pat and Eddie Stanton. Co-owner […]<\/p>\n