After nine long years of being Sydney’s favourite haunt for diverse gigs, wonderfully weird events, and generally just being a dancefloor gremlin until 4am on the reg, Freda’s in Chippendale has announced it’ll be shutting its doors at the end of the month.
A deeply integral part of the Sydney arts scene, Freda’s owner David Abram has confirmed the small club will be closing on November 21, after surviving the last five years of “lock outs, red tape, risings rent, and an exodus of the youth from the city centre.”
In a statement released this afternoon, Abram confirmed that it was the pressures of the global coronavirus pandemic that was the final straw for Freda’s in its current home. With everything that happened this year, it was evident to the Freda’s family that the beloved bar was not part of the Chippendale warehouse’s future plans.
“Although we could not foresee an international pandemic, it had already become clear to us that we were not part of the long term plans for our building,” Abram said.
“The 100 year old warehouse we have inhabited, as is the way for many grassroots cultural spaces, will eventually become a memory to the high rise construction that is likely to envelop Chippendale in the next 10 years.
“While we are saying goodbye to a beloved space, this isn’t goodbye forever. When one door closes, another one opens. We will see you again soon.”
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Abram and the Freda’s team for a bit of clarity around the decision and the future of the Chippendale venue.
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Since it’s opening in 2011, Freda’s has become an institution for culture and arts in the Sydney scene, hosting heady gigs and DJ sets from the likes of Vanessa Worm, Wax O’Paradiso, Simon Caldwell, and Rainbow Chan, and in recent years was a mainstay for the annual takeover of the city by Vivid Festival.
But it wouldn’t be Freda’s if it didn’t go out without a hell of a bang, and the team have confirmed that the Festival of Freda’s will kick off on November 6, and run through until the very last moment the space is allowed to operate on November 21.
The three-week-long festival will feature faves including Gauci, Ben Fester, Pelvis, Rimbobo, and the beloved Freda’s House Band, to see the space off in the only way it knows how – weird as all fucking hell. Ticket information for the Festival of Freda’s will be up on the website soon.
All is not lost though, as Abram has said that although this is goodbye to a beloved space in Sydney, it’s not goodbye forever from the Freda’s team. We’ll keep you updated on that one, pals.
