Just a few streets back from Scarborough Beach, a modest bar has become one of Perth’s best-loved live music venues.
Part of the Indian Ocean Hotel on Hastings Street, The Indi Bar has built a reputation for showcasing emerging musicians, particularly through its popular Thursday night open mic sessions.
For local artists and music lovers, it’s more than somewhere to spend an evening. It’s a place to discover new talent and become part of Perth’s music community.
While the venue may look unassuming to the naked eye, innocuously tucked next to the accommodation part of the Indian Ocean Hotel – formerly the White Sands Hotel – the venue holds a dear place in Perth’s music scene’s heart, a favourite among supporters of emerging artists.
The venue, complete with a swimming pool, a snooker hall, outside seating, and of course, the main stage, is perhaps most famed for its Thursday Night Open Mic weekly event, in which budding musicians get to play their own original music to a crowd that regularly exceeds hundreds of people.
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One of Indi Bar’s advantages over competing venues, especially in an area full of live music like Scarborough, is that free entry is one of the core values of the establishment.
Anna, a longtime bartender of the bar and a lifetime music fan, describes her love for the venue, and how it’s so much more than just a workplace for herself.
“We are literally all friends! Every time a new artist comes on, it’s always a pleasant experience. I also think we’re also all cool in that fact that we’re uncool.
“We all match each other’s weirdness, and this is a place where you can be your genuine, authentic self.”
Some of Western Australia’s finest acts have honed their craft at the Indi Bar over the years. Albany rock band The Waifs were a regular fixture in the early 90s, while John Butler and Spacey Jane also both cut their teeth at the Scarborough venue.
It’s not only local talent who have graced the stages of the Indian Ocean Hotel, however. Famous patrons of the venue during their Australian travels include The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, the latter of which infamously had their room raided by police during a visit in 1972.
Anna is in the process of delivering a “backyard rave” project, “fusing art, musing and creativity together” in a way which will bring the community.
Anna believes the Indi Bar is already evidence that her project is both a want and a need in the community, saying “The music scene is so strong, and people love sharing experiences through music… people dig it, and it’s cool.” Anna finishes by asking, “What better way to spend a Thursday night?!”
Duke Rod Florence, the vocalist and guitarist for folk-rock band Rivergrove, says he describes himself as a fan of music before being a musician. He said the Indi Bar holds a special place.
“We love it because it’s where the music in Perth comes to life. This is where it’s at, you know where to be!”
For new and aspiring artists in Western Australia, the Indi Bar is more than a popular venue to perform at. It serves as Perth’s premier location to kickstart a career; a place where genres range from rock and punk to hip-hop and everything in between are not only accepted, but embraced.
Xander Vinci
Xander Vinci is a second-year student studying a Bachelor of Journalism and Broadcast Media at Edith Cowan University. He entered the writing, reporting and presenting field after falling in love with storytelling from a primary school age. Born and raised in Perth, his work covers a range of local topics, namely sports and politics. He was featured as one of the first writers for inaugural edition of "The Debrief", a collaboration between The West Australian and ECU students.
