Mount Gambier musician Liam Brown has been seeing a shrinking number of live performance opportunities. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
Venues and artists in SA's second biggest city, Mount Gambier, say soaring costs have led to a decline in gigs.
The lack of tours coming to the city has led to backlash against a local venue owner.
MusicSA says the issue is nationwide, and a regional music summit in Mount Gambier will help come up with solutions.
A hundred years ago the Old Mount Gambier Gaol was home to the region's convicts and criminals.
Since its decommissioning in the 1990s it has become a hub for events, accommodation, and played host to some of the region's largest music shows.
Over the decade and a half James and Mel Stephenson have owned the Old Gaol they have brought in artists of a range of genres, from Hilltop Hoods to Missy Higgins to Jimmy Barnes.
But Mr Stephenson said these sorts of marquee shows, drawing as many as 5,000 people, are becoming more difficult to deliver.
"Everything's just gone up two, three, four or five times [in cost], that's the main difference from when we started to now," he said.
"It's not just the artists, it's toilets, it's security, it's logistics, it's front of house, it's staging.
Old Mount Gambier Gaol proprietor James Stephenson has received personal abuse for failing to secure gigs. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
"It makes it a bit hard, not just for myself but for the promoters and how much they want to get out of a show.
Not attracting shows has seen Mr Stephenson face some criticism online, including personal attacks from disappointed locals, prompting him to speak up on social media.
"The majority is positive because of the things that we do for Mount Gambier, but we also get the negative," he said.
"I understand that people can get frustrated simply because it's not here, but they don't understand the work to get things here."