Save Dunedin Live Music spokesman David Bennett said he was pleased with the significant number of supporters who turned out despite heavy rain and plummeting temperatures.
The aim was to put pressure on the council to get the developer of a lower Rattray St property next to the Crown Hotel, Anchorage Properties Ltd, to come to the table to discuss solutions, Mr Bennett said.
"We want them to help us apply pressure to the developer to do more to protect this venue [the Crown] because it is so important to the city," he said.
A mixed-use residential and commercial building has been consented for the lower Rattray St property, sparking fears noise complaints from new residents could result in the venue having to curtail its operations, despite having hosted live music for decades.
Mr Bennett said his message to the developers was he wanted them to consider the cultural value of the Crown Hotel and how significant it was to many in the city.
"Please come and talk to us and the council, and we’ll see what we can do about mitigating any impact," he said.
They also wanted the council to "plan for noise".
Speaker Taylor MacGregor, of Save Our Venues NZ, told the crowd the Crown Hotel was in a precarious situation but it was not alone.
Venues that supported grassroots music communities were crucial to kick-start the careers of artists and promoters, but "all it takes is one unreasonable grump of a neighbour to put the kibosh on everything you want to do", Mr MacGregor said.
Sound restrictions causing venues to shut down was a problem across the country but change could be on the horizon if Dunedin found a solution to the problems facing the Crown Hotel, he said.
"This is an opportunity to set a national precedent that celebrates our venues as an essential part of our cities and communities."
Bliss Point drummer Tane Cotton said the Hocken library exhibit "Kaleidoscope World: 40 years of Flying Nun in Dunedin" highlighted how rich the city’s musical heritage had been in years past, with about 50 venues around Dunedin.
Now there were only a handful left and bands were struggling, Mr Cotton said.
Crown Hotel owner Jones Chin said he was pleased with the support he had received, which showed Dunedin’s live music scene was not dead yet.
