Diversity Of Venues Consolidate Perth’s ‘New Seattle’ Tag (Australia/New Zealand Special 2025)

What do Tame Impala, Empire of the Sun, Troye Sivan, Birds of Tokyo, Pendulum, Pond, INXS, Hoodoo Gurus and Triffids have in common?

They had their start in Perth, Western Australia, one of the most remote capitals in the world with 2 million people and Mediterranean weather.

The music scene is bolstered by different sized venues, a network of college radio and music media, and initiatives from music association WAM covering touring, recording and exports.

WAM chief executive Owen Whittle explained, “There’s a real strength in what occurs here, because much of it happens out of the national spotlight. So it doesn’t follow trends. The creativity is taking place in the dark here.”
The physical distance means Perth acts work 10 times harder than those in Melbourne or Sydney to get a national look-in.

“It gives them a grit and distinctiveness,” Whittle adds. “Artists plug away for years. When the spotlight is turned on them, they come across as really developed.”

Multi-platinum guitarist John Butler said, “Perth is so small you see the epicenter from outside, and it’s not as forbidding as Eastern cities.”

Caleb Harper of band Spacey Jane told Soft Pop magazine there’s such a sense of community that roles – musicians, managers, lighting techs – “are valued and everyone is looked after. That’s why there’s so many good venues and good bands in Perth.”

Acts start in 100- to 700-capacity clubs such as Mojos Bar, Freo Social and The Rechabite. Tourists like Macklemore and Alex Warren wanting to play to 5,000 capacity have the Perth High Performance Centre.

Fitting in with the WA government’s plans to make Perth an events capital are VenuesWest’s Optus Stadium (61,266), HBF Park (35,000), Perth HPC (4,500) and RAC Arena (15,500) attracting major acts to include expensive-to-get-to Perth on national runs.

RAC Arena recently hosted sold-out doubles by Katy Perry, Gracie Abrams, Drake and Hozier.

In late 2023, the state government enticed Coldplay to interrupt a southeast Asian run for two exclusive shows at Optus Stadium.

Of 134,000 attendees, 40,000 were from interstate and 8,000 from abroad. Many had not visited WA before.
The state’s A$8 million ($5.22 million) investment generated a reported A$75 million–80 million ($49 million to $52.2 million) in economic impact, paving the way for other exclusive visits.

A VenuesWest spokesperson said, “In the next six months alone, Optus Stadium will host Metallica, two AC/DC dates and Ed Sheeran. Major events as these regularly sell out, proving WA audiences are among the most engaged.”
Perth’s location as a gateway to Asia is significant: it is closer to Jakarta than Sydney, and mostly in the same time zones.

The VenuesWest spokesperson noted,: “This makes it a logical stop for artists touring Asia-Pacific. This not only suits the Exclusive market, but also provides the option to include Perth on two touring routes for event scheduling.”
The Burswood entertainment and sporting precinct the government is working on includes a 15,000-20,000 capacity auditorium.

In the summer of 2026, Live Nation will expand its Music Hall brand to Perth, targeting 100 shows in its first 12 months.

“Perth lacks a venue of the 3,000-capacity for standing shows, and I think it will attract more acts to go to Perth,” LN ANZ chairman Michael Coppel said.