Down Under: Download, Maureen Gordon & More

After months of speculation that Britain’s Download Festival was heading Down Under, an Australian website went live Oct 20.

Andrew Whitton – Download 2015
KISS

Details remain sketchy, but an event will stage in Melbourne in 2018.

The domain name was reportedly purchased by Live Nation in 2016, but the Australian promoters will be UNIFIED and Secret Sounds.

Maureen Gordon, who ran Auckland’s music-showcasing Kings Arms Tavern for 30 years, died at the age of 86.

The aspiring opera singer studied in London and returned to New Zealand to marry Peter Gordon before jointly setting up a number of hospitality venues.

Peter died a year after they bought the Kings Arms, and Maureen continued showcasing emerging indie, ska, country and metal acts.

Musicians and patrons described her as “tough but fair and kind.”

In recent years illness and clashes with local council over noise issues led to her selling the venue for NZ$7.4 million (US$5.1 million) to a developer in December 2016.

Owen Sweeney / Invision / AP – Lana Del Rey
Sweetlife Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md.

Brisbane will get a new A$40 million (US$31.2 million) venue that will host live music, theatre and other events.

The venue is to be called 312 Brunswick, after its street address.

Work begins in January 2018 with a  mid-2019 completion date. The 3, 300-capacity building is expected to fill the gap left behind by the 2003 closure of the 4,000-seat Festival Hall and the closure at the end of October of the 1,200-capacity Max Watt’s after a dispute with its landlord.

Behind the venture are high-profile builder and live music supporter Scott Hutchinson, former Powderfinger bassist John Collins and Secret Sounds touring co-founder and co-promoter of the Splendour in the Grass and national Falls festivals, Paul Piticco. The three have already worked together setting up the Triffid music venue, which, since opening in 2014 in an old industrial hangar, has become one of the most popular in the city for live music.

Hutchinson, owner of the largest building firm in Queensland, said: “The partnership with Secret Sounds shows that Brisbane is not only ready for a venue of this size, but that it is has also come of age as a New World City that responds enthusiastically to, and financially supports, a whole range of live entertainment experiences.”

About 1,000 of the 2,500 square-metre project will house retail, food and beverage outlets. Hutchinson named Iggy Pop at the top of his wish-list to play its opening.

The tour schedule for the Australian late summer and autumn has amped up with the return of several major names.

Live Nation has Incubus back for its first headlining run in Australia in six years. The band is at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena March 9, Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion March 10 and Brisbane Riverstage March 12.

Gene Simmons and his solo band extends its current routing with four East Australian Coast theatres Feb 1—6 for TEG Live.

Lana Del Rey’s “LA To The Moon Tour” lands here for two outdoor dates and an arena show March 29 to April 2 through Secret Sounds.

Destroy All Lines and Chugg Entertainment teamed up for five theatre stops by Primal Scream Feb 15 to 21.

Frontier Touring and Illusive Presents confirmed Joey Bada$$ for four Australian and New Zealand theatres and clubs Jan 12 to 18 before his Jan 20 appearance at Melbourne’s Sugar Mountain Festival.