Cherry Bar

The COVID-19 Pandemic has hit the local live music sector hard. We were the first to be closed and we will be the last to be allowed to re-open.

‘For three months now, no income has come in at all, and yet core costs such as rent, insurance, maintenance, etc. continue to roll in.

‘Many Melbourne live music venues will never recover from this brutal hit. Some will never return and sadly will never be replaced.

‘Cherry Bar has been a fixture of the Melbourne dive bar scene for over 20 years now and we reckon we’ve figured out a way to guarantee our return and our future, and that solution is… YOU!

‘Cherry plans to re-open with a maximum capacity of 28 people in our Band Room from June 24. Obviously, we can’t survive on just 28 patrons (our capacity is 260), but we think it’s important to create momentum for this re-opening process by being one of the first bars to let punters back in to see live local music.

‘To survive the three-month lockdown and income freeze, and to be able to re-open in some form for just 28 punters we are going to need a financial injection.

‘And as usual we are not relying on a corporate white knight sponsor or a government hand-out to survive. Cherry Bar is asking for support from the only people who can’t afford it and the only people who will give it to us …. YOU … our beloved punters.

‘We are going to create a permanent lightning bolt-shaped display on a featured wall inside Cherry Bar, made up of a limited number of individual plaques naming and honouring the pledges of support from our giving punters.

‘So if you can afford to help Cherry in our time of need, please commit to paying us $100 each during our two-week Pozible campaign, and in return we will preserve your name on the wall of Cherry Bar, give you and a guest free entry to a ‘normal’ Cherry gig (pending capacity) and we will also throw in a limited edition Cherry Bar tea towel.

‘In addition, we will have one $5000 “free entry at Cherry plus one for life” ticket and three “free entry at Cherry plus one for a year” tickets.

‘It’s a big ask. It’s a desperate time. We sincerely hope that you can help Cherry Bar survive now and help save rock n roll in this country!

‘Get Cherry Back In Black!

To survive the three-month lockdown and income freeze, and to be able to re-open in some form for just 28 punters we are going to need a financial injection.

The funds will be used to help pay for debts we've incurred including rent, utilities, licencing, insurance, and artist fees ongoing.

The funds will also be used to help cover to considerable costs involved in upgrades to the venue and it's facilities to make them compliant with the COVID-19 regulations so we can safely host live music again.