Concrete Playground

When Oxford Art Factory opened, Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a music venue large enough to house international acts but not too showy to make locals feel out of place. They also combined many people’s two loves – music and art – with a gallery space in the smaller bar area where large-scale murals were commissioned from some of the country’s best artists.

The venue’s latest initiative is to turn Friday nights into something more than just getting drunk at the pub with your work colleagues. After Work Art is a new weekly Friday night gig where a band is rostered on to perform three sets a night for a whole month, with cheap cocktails and beer, student discounts and movie screenings.

September saw Canvas Kites performing three sets a night for a month and for October Sideways Hitchhiker are playing the weekly shows. Get on down and celebrate Friday with some people cooler than Gary at the desk across from yours.