The Croxton Bandroom | Melbourne’s newest bandroom has a colourful past.
Built in 1844, The Croxton Park Hotel in Thornbury is an old school pub that has had a long view of Australian history, from the gold rush to the Diggers to World Series cricket.
Sometime in the mid-twentieth century, a huge ballroom was built onto the back of the pub. It became one of Melbourne’s most successful live music venues in the seventies and eighties – literally anyone who was anyone played at ‘The Croc’ in those days, from ACDC and Skyhooks to Rose Tattoo, INXS, Men at Work, Mondo Rock and Midnight Oil.
Decades after a golden era of pub rock ended, The Croxton had fallen off the radar, but under a coat of the dust the room remained a superb space for live music. It has an epic 14 metre wide stage and perfect sightlines no matter where you stand. Croxton train Station is around the corner, High Street trams are out the front and there’s a 300-space carpark across the road. What’s not to love?
With Thornbury fast becoming the coolest ‘hood in Melbourne’s inner north, it was time to wake the sleeping giant. With a fresh look, a phenomenal new PA and a totally overhauled front bar, The Croxton Bandroom is back.
We opened with sell-out shows from You Am, The Drones and Augie March, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Sleater-Kinney, and there’s more to come.
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