Mount Gambier musician Liam Brown has been seeing a shrinking number of live performance opportunities. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n
Venues and artists in SA's second biggest city, Mount Gambier, say soaring costs have led to a decline in gigs.<\/p>\n
The lack of tours coming to the city has led to backlash against a local venue owner.<\/p>\n
MusicSA says the issue is nationwide, and a regional music summit in Mount Gambier will help come up with solutions.<\/p>\n
A hundred years ago the Old Mount Gambier Gaol was home to the region's convicts and criminals.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But Mr Stephenson said these sorts of marquee shows, drawing as many as 5,000 people, are becoming more difficult to deliver.<\/p>\n
"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.<\/p>\n
"It's not just the artists, it's toilets, it's security, it's logistics, it's front of house, it's staging.<\/p>\n
Old Mount Gambier Gaol proprietor James Stephenson has received personal abuse for failing to secure gigs. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n
"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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
"The majority is positive because of the things that we do for Mount Gambier, but we also get the negative," he said.<\/p>\n
"I understand that people can get frustrated simply because it's not here, but they don't understand the work to get things here."<\/p>\n