Gold Coast live music space Mo's Desert Clubhouse is in prime position to become one of the country's most talked about venues when it relaunches next month.
Kimberly Ferguson, co-director of the Burleigh Heads venue (which serves as a community hub for musicians, artists, creatives and industry-related crew), told The Music that after undergoing "intense red tape" from local council for two years, Mo's is finally ready to launch its 'Creative Industry Zone'.
"After six months of operations, Mo's was hit up by the Gold Coast City Council to either 'conform or close'," Ferguson said.
"Upon inspection, the council soon realised that the space did not 'fit their boxes' on the GC City plans... so the question came about to 'What is Mo's?' without taking away from the creative warehouse and its capability to really cater for the creative industry.
"Mo's was faced with a $60,000 re-zone process or to shut the doors on the space and return it to the industrial warehouse it once was."
During that time, Mo's hosted a number of big-name gigs for the likes of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Stonefield, Paces and Kyle Lionheart.
Ferguson, along with fellow co-directors Emilia Ugarte and Christian Tryhorn, have spent close to $100,000 in keeping Mo's alive and with over 500 submissions from the public, the space was finally approved.
"We are no longer under threat of having to close the doors due to forces outside our control," Ferguson said.
"We can finally invest in the space, Mo's can grow as a business and as a space for creative collaboration. We have been working on a new bar, stage, sound and production that will really take Mo's to the next level as a live music venue.
"We can start to run two live music gigs per week 'til midnight with a DB limit that caters for bands and live music, not just an acoustic duo in the corner. Mo's can actually start to thrive as a music venue that WILL help develop the Gold Coast music scene as a whole.
"Mo's is now able to be the destination venue that it was originally intended to be and host national and touring acts... it's time to thrive."
For details on the relaunch party, taking place on Saturday 21 September, click here.
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