WA’s iconic Artillery Drill Hall building has received a massive overhaul in recent months and is now home to the state’s newest live music space, Freo.Social.
Director Dave Chitty told The Music the ultimate goal of the 600-capacity venue is to “create a range of experiences that connect with people”.
“It’s a place where people feel like they belong and they feel welcome,” he said.
Entering the revamped space, punters will notice quite a few changes.
“Punters can expect to walk in and see an operating brewery, walk out into a beer garden and playground area, and there is another yard area which has a food truck and food carts offering street style food on a rotating menu,” Chitty said.
“The Entertainment Hall, which has always been there, has been refurbished with modern reduction and sound attenuation equipment, so they can expect a world-class show, in a beautiful old heritage building.
“The Entertainment Hall is truly an incredibly unique building that I think artists and punters are attracted to alike. It has had a lot of noise attenuation works and world-class production put into it, so we believe that it’s the best space for its size in WA.”
Chitty describes Freo.Social as more of an “entertainment hall than a music hall”.
“We wanted to open the hall up to a wider cross-section of the community,” he tells.
“We decided to focus on triple j touring acts, comedy, adult contemporary shows, dinner and show, some street performances, some theatre, some film.”
The town is known as an incubating for world-class talent, having given the world the likes of Tame Impala, Eskimo Joe, San Cisco, John Butler and so many more over the years, and the team behind Freo.Social want to make the new venue a place for emerging bands and creatives to hone their craft.
“We have actually set up a fund for this, which is called Tapped by Otherside, which is all about reinvesting into the creative community that we operate in,” Chitty explains.
“We believe that it’s important that we invest into local creatives with this space we are in, to the point that someday they may be able to play in the Entertainment Hall to 600 people.
“And without reinvesting back into these people, it’s very difficult to nurture the industry.”
To celebrate its opening, Freo.Social will kick things off in style with a week-long party that features a stack of local talent, with John Butler performing on April 3, before The Waifs, SUPEREGO, San Cisco and more take to the stage in the days that follow.
Check out theGuide for all upcoming shows at Freo.Social.
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