It’s Still A Secret Venue ‘Forced’ To Shut Down For Good

Beloved Brisbane venue It’s Still A Secret will be closing its doors for good at the end of August this year. This announcement comes after months of pleading for support from punters - warning last June that they were on “the precipice” of shutting down.

Despite raising over $32,000 for their cause, the venue has officially announced that their last day of operations will be August 31. Explaining that the heritage-listed venue had “unexpectedly changed hands” recently, It’s Still A Secret revealed that they will be “forced” to shut down and “find space where the music will always play on.”

“I know it is heartbreaking, to say the least, but let’s try to look at this as a blessing in disguise. As most of you know, this is one incredibly tough gig, and it’s been an exhausting but rewarding rollercoaster ride since opening a little over 3 years ago, with every obstacle possible thrown our way, and a whole lot of learning the hard way that the entire industry (especially at a grassroots level) is experiencing,” the statement read.

“As some of you may already know, the ownership of our heritage-listed house of love recently and unexpectedly changed hands. She was purchased by a family with a love for heritage beauties and some very grand plans for our treasured old girl. Yeah... I know, she’s perfect the way she is, but truth is she is falling apart at the seams and in desperate need of a lot of costly tender loving care. She is now the apple of her new family’s eye and she will remain a heirloom and their headquarters for all time.

“These forced changes have forced us to seek new ways, knock on new doors, explore different avenues, to find space where the music will always play on. Trust that we are working incredibly hard behind the scenes and doing everything we can to try to secure a new home for this incredible community to come together. If, when, and how this might happen is still unclear, but what we do know is that anything is possible with love, a passionate, supportive community, and the most amazing dedicated team.”

Though the future of the team behind It’s Still A Secret is unknown, they’re currently encouraging punters to lap up the last few gigs on offer before closing. 

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“In the meantime, we need your support now more than ever so we can continue to bring you the best original live music for years to come! Let’s make the next 5 months with our heritage-listed honey pot the biggest and best ever!”

The fate of It’s Still A Secret’s sister venue, Can You Keep A Secret, still hangs in the balance. When posting a joint GoFundMe for both venues last June, owner Emily Dennis wrote to supporters with a sense of “great urgency”.

“We find ourselves in a dire financial situation that threatens our very existence,” Dennis wrote, citing the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living for a decline in attendance, early tickets sold, and an increase in event cancellations - while also facing “increasing financial strain” due to “soaring” operational expenses and the higher costs of rent, supply, and insurance premiums.

Dennis stated, “We're not alone in this struggle; over one-third of small to medium-sized Australian live music venues have shut permanently in the past three years, and we are teetering on the brink of becoming another heartbreaking statistic.”