The Croxton Bandroom turns ten – a decade of excellent gigs in a most unlikely venue

by Billy Burgess | Thursday Oct 16, 2025 | Features, News

Cash Savage at The Croxton in 2016, Photograph by Kyleigh Pitcher

Thornbury venue The Croxton Bandroom is celebrating its tenth birthday with a two-day block party.

The lineup includes Tropical Fuck Storm, Spiderbait, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks, Floodlights, Party Dozen, Ratcat, and plenty more. The event is going down in the carpark across the road from the Croxton on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November.

Joining TFS, Cash Savage and Party Dozen on the Saturday lineup are Grace Cummings, EXEK, Npcede and Loose Lips. Sunday headliners Spiderbait, Floodlights and Ratcat will be joined by Sex Mask, Girl and Girl and The Gnomes.

“The Croxton has always felt like a community to us, from the staff who have been with us for a decade, to the artists who keep coming back to play, to the audiences who come through our doors for shows,” said Croxton co-booker Andrew Parisi.

“We take a lot of pride in what we have built here – it’s more than just four walls and a stage. We are part of the essential DNA of this city, which is a thriving music scene. It’s important to Melbourne and it’s important to us.”

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The Croxton Bandroom forms part of The Croxton Park Hotel, located at the southernmost point of Thornbury. When I moved to the area from Sydney circa 2012, I couldn’t bear to look at The Croxton while walking up High St. The hulking structure rammed full of pokies reminded me of the leagues clubs and RSLs that dominated life in New South Wales and that I’d hoped to leave behind when passing from Albury into Wodonga.

So, I was sceptical when I heard that a legit music venue was opening in the rear of the building over the AFL grand final long weekend in 2015. I went to the opening night party, carrying my too-serious snobbishness around with me. But somewhere in between all the free drinks and canapes and a ribbon-slicing performance from You Am I, it dawned on me that this place might not actually be cursed.

My scepticism was further erased when I went back the following night to see Augie March and The Drones. Hang on, I thought, it actually sounds decent in here. And the bar to the left hand side of the band room, abutting the street, feels oddly lived in, welcoming even. Looking around, everyone – free drinks and canapes or otherwise – seemed to be having a good time.

“We opened the Croxton 10 years ago with a Drones gig when that part of town still felt miles away from the inner city,” TFS’s Gareth Liddiard said in a statement. “Now it is the inner city which is why it’s wild that we’re going to be playing outside. The stage will be in that big carpark across from the pub. It’s going to be huge.”

Over the last ten years, I’ve seen several of my favourite Naarm gigs at The Croxton. Top of the list is Cate Le Bon’s gig there in December 2019. I called it the “best gig of the year” at the time, and not many gigs in subsequent years have matched it.

Other highlights include King Gizzard and Swedish band Goat at the end of 2015, Tropical Fuck Storm supporting Kurt Vile in 2019, and The Beasts featuring the late James Baker in 2023. I saw Phoebe Bridgers at the Croxton in February 2019, days after she’d made public allegations of abuse against Ryan Adams.

The venue’s co-booker Simone Ubaldi offered a comprehensive rundown of the variety of acts who’ve passed through The Croxton.

“We hosted the first-ever Australian gigs for artists like UK rap superstar Dave, Idles, Future Islands, Black Midi, Khruangbin, Sleaford Mods, Faye Webster and Phoebe Bridgers, and incredible reunion shows from bands like Pixies, Gang of Four, Swervedriver, Teenage Fanclub, Radio Birdman, Suicidal Tendencies, Helmet, L7, They Might Be Giants, and so many more.”

The Croxton has also hosted milestone performance from stacks of Australian artists. “We’re proud to have been a home to local heroes like The Murlocs, Floodlights, Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, Tropical Fuck Storm, Cosmic Psychos, Civic, RVG and The Smith Street Band,” said Ubaldi.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have played eight gigs at The Croxton, and Amyl and The Sniffers have played six.

“The fact that The Croxton has had a place in their globe-conquering journeys is mind-blowing,” Ubaldi said. “It reminds us that being part of a local music scene really means something. We’re part of an ecosystem that connects local artists to the world.”

Get your tickets to the Croxton Block Party here.