The Gershwin Room is the music heart of the Espy, added to the building in the 1920’s to provide entertainment for the middle class it became a leading dance and jazz venue. From every era onwards the Gershwin room has evolved & contributed much to Melbourne’s music scene – from disco in the 70’s to its most iconic “grunginess” era in the 90’s, where it’s said there were over 300 live recording sessions at the venue, with about 25 different acts performing live each week.
Fast forward to 2018, the Espy & it’s famous Gershwin room re-opens and acts like G Flip, Winston Surfshirt, Touch Sensitive, Darude, Baynk, X, Starcrawler and Pond have helped bring life back to the stage.
Just when you think you have seen every space of the Espy, think again – Follow the walls of vintage gig posters down to the basement, an intimate, homage to an Espy past. A space to welcome the up and coming, the “trying to make it”, the talent just waiting for their big break and all the pros that have been calling the Basement in the Espy their stage for many years.
Open Mic night on a Tuesday, Young Henry’s up and coming bands night on a Thursday, Blues on a Sunday evening and a healthy mix of DJ sets to suit the more eclectic Espy music fans sprinkled through the weekend, the Basement is a labyrinth of everything new, old, out there, old school & everything in between.
