Ball Park Music Announce One Last Show At The Zoo

Like all of us in the Australian music industry, Ball Park Music are understandably devastated by the news of iconic Brisbane venue The Zoo’s impending closure.

Not letting the venue close without playing there one last time, Ball Park Music have announced a show where they “say farewell” to The Zoo with special guest FELONY. The show will take place on Wednesday, 22 May.

“The Zoo in Brisbane is the first venue we ever played at as a band and since that day, The Zoo has been a place of countless good memories on stage and also as punters,” Ball Park Music began in a statement on social media.

Recalling supporting their “favourite bands” in the early days and then reaching the stage where they hosted sold-out shows, playing BIGSOUND showcases and last-minute secret gigs, Ball Park Music wrote that “One thing that definitely isn't a secret is our love for The Zoo.”

They continued, “547 shows later, we couldn't possibly watch this beautiful venue close the doors permanently without hitting the stage one last time.

“So here we are, performing at The Zoo one last time with special guest Felony. Because we want to, because we need to and because we love it.”

Tickets go on sale at 9 am on Monday, 13 May, via the band’s website.

Earlier this month, The Zoo owners announced that the venue and its sister space, Stranded, would close their doors. Stranded closed on Monday, 6 May, and The Zoo's final day of trade will be Monday, 8 July.

In a candid statement posted to Instagram, The Zoo owners wrote that the venue reached its highest ticket sales last year, but that still wasn’t enough to combat “rising operational costs and decreasing returns”.

The owners said they tried to keep venue hire costs “as low as possible” for artists and promoters, putting themselves under financial strain and depending on profitable bar sales.

However, “the cost of supplying alcohol is rising, and bar sales are going down, likely due to a mix of lifestyle changes and cost-of-living stress for our patrons,” the statement said, with owners declaring the “hard truth” of running The Zoo at a loss for over three years.

The statement read, “Despite exploring every avenue available to us, we could not secure the level of support needed to surmount the continued financial strain. We have no choice but to call last drinks for both of our beloved music venues.”