The Southland Musicians Club’s iconic live music venue has a new name.
The Riff Live Entertainment Venue will be officially launched with a free show on Saturday 14 March.
The building at 33 Preston Street, Invercargill, has been home to the Southland Musicians Club since the club bought the property in 1983. In all that time it has doubled as an entertainment venue.
Club president Trevor Daley said the time was right for the venue to have its own identity.
“We’ve seen some terrific acts performing in our club over the years – local, national and international. Nothing about that is going to change. We will still passionately support local talent and provide a top-class stage for touring acts.
“What we do want to change is to generate greater awareness of the facilities we have here and encourage more people to come to shows in our excellent live entertainment venue.”
Mr Daley said the musicians club would continue to thrive behind the scenes, providing a social space for its members.
“What we are offering the people of Southland is this fantastic purpose-built performance venue. The Riff will be front and centre for all our public events and activities, and bands will still be able to book the venue to hold gigs here.
“It will be a standalone entity, with its own website, and its own social media presence.
“We’ve worked very hard to develop our professional entertainment venue, and it deserves to be recognised as the heart of the Southland music scene.”
Among the more visible changes at Preston Street will be new street-facing signage and a stunning colourful mural painted inside the building. The mural was created by Southland artist Diane Griffiths and club committee member Jersey Rhein and is sure to become an iconic feature of the venue.
The official opening of the renamed venue will be celebrated with a free show, open to the public, on Saturday 14 March, from 1.30pm until late.
On the bill are The Commoners, Fortunate Sons, S.UN, The Cindy Syndicate, FOTA, Hoodaki, Filth Wizard and Duncan’s Darlings.
