It’s a familiar complaint about our beautiful city – “Sydney’s dead!”. Yes we have stunning beaches, we’ve got glitz and glamour, but when it comes to a wild night out on the town – or even a tamer one! – … Melbourne has more to offer its punters.

The lockout laws introduced in February 2014 to curb alcohol-related violence may have made the streets safer, but they also placed a chokehold on the city’s nightlife. And with it, the live music scene. On 14 January 2020 these laws were lifted in the CBD.

We spoke with Emily Collins, Managing Director of Music NSW – also on the City of Sydney’s Nightlife and Creative Sector Advisory Panel – about what this means for our live music scene.