The Odd Culture Group Has Been Granted a 4am License and Will Open a New Underground Live Music Bar on King Street

This is the first 4am licence that has been granted by the City of Sydney in over 100 years.
Ben Hansen
October 18, 2022

The team behind Odd Culture Newtown, The Duke of Enmore, The Old Fitz and The Oxford Tavern is opening an exciting new venue which is set to serve drinks late into the night. The Odd Culture Group's newest venue will be a 400-square-metre basement bar below King Street in Newtown, boasting the City of Sydney's first 4am license for a bar in over a century.

The hospitality group is hoping this will open the door to a new wave of late-night venues that will help foster a more diverse and inclusive nightlife.

"This is the first 4am licence given to a bar in the area for over 100 years and is a huge win in our efforts to diversify Sydney's late night entertainment offering," Odd Culture Group CEO James Thorpe said. "We want this venue to be a milestone in our city's way to becoming a true 24-hour cultural destination, a place where you can come seven days a week at all hours and experience something special."

The new venue is set to open early next year with a seven-day roster of entertainment with the Odd Culture Group Operations Manager Sabrina Medcalf promising to bring the spirit of the boundary-pushing music roster at The Duke of Enmore to this new venture.

Nick Zavadszky, James Thorpe, Sabrina Medcalf and Michael Rodrigues by Maria Boyadgis

"The 4am licence is the forbidden fruit of all licences and we can't wait to share some unadulterated music bills to the public," Medcalf said. "The later, the better in my eyes. I've been amongst live music venues and late licences for most of my career and it's the most exciting, culture-building environment around."

"We have been on the lookout for a basement property to deliver a live music bar for a very long time," continues Thorpe. "In a city like Sydney that is still (re)establishing its post-midnight cultural face — a task that is so often at loggerheads with the wants of a few vocal local residents — sound attenuation is incredibly important. This space ticks all the boxes — being submerged underneath King St, finding itself located in the council's tiny Late Night Management zone in Newtown, and it being centrally located next to Newtown Station."

The City of Sydney classifies the majority of King Street as a Local Centre Area, except for the block between Erskineville Road and Newman Street — where you'll find The Bank, The Townie and Newtown Station — granting this area greater access to extended trading hours.

Stay tuned for more information in the lead-up to the venue's opening.

King Street, Cassandra Hannagan

The Odd Culture Group's new late-night venue is set to open seven days a week with a 4am license in early 2023.

top image: The Duke of Enmore

Published on October 18, 2022 by Ben Hansen
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