The former Captain Cook Tavern, on the corner of Great King and Albany Sts — the stomping ground for many of Dunedin’s seminal bands — will make its return next month with a new pair of owners at the helm.
Mili Oxley Lobo and Bayden Oxley — who also own Errick’s and Ombrellos — will officially open the venue, called DropKicks, on September 14.
The original Captain Cook Tavern closed more than a decade ago.
It reopened as the Captain Cook Hotel in 2018, before closing again in 2019 when the lease for the ground floor was taken over by New Zealand pizza franchise Sal’s.
The live music space, in the top floor of the premises, changed its name to Dive in 2020 before closing in November last year.
Mrs Oxley Lobo said it was an honour to revive a building with such a rich history and connection to Dunedin culture.
They had announced the venue on Monday and their first event — for which the lineup remained a mystery — had sold out within 24 hours.
After opening Errick’s, located in the former New New New Brewery in Crawford St, they realised there was still a gap in the market for affordable venues — particularly for the city’s student community.
"What has blown my mind since we’ve opened is every time we’ve done a student event they’re the first to sell out, which really kind of opened my eyes to the need in the market that is out there.
"They’re crying out for things to do and so much so they’ll walk 20 minutes down the road to come to Errick’s."
While they were not single-handedly trying to revive the music scene themselves, Mrs Oxley Lobo said their goal was to contribute to Dunedin’s ongoing cultural evolution.
"We hope that by offering another space for artists to showcase their talents, we can help nurture and sustain the creative spirit that makes this city unique.
"The more music venues and safe spaces there are for people to enjoy themselves, the better it is for everyone."
Save Dunedin Live Music spokesman David Bennett said DropKicks would be "very significant" to a lot of people and bands in the community.
"There’s been a lot of association with the university culture and the music scene more broadly with that building, it is symbolic.
"It’s good for the community when one of these things comes back in some form of what it was from the heyday of Dunedin music."
When Dive shut down, the city lost the last venue that could host smaller touring acts — who had trouble finding a place to play in Dunedin.
"It’s fantastic that it’s back open because I think you’ll see those kind of events coming back to the city," Mr Bennett said.
There were also few spaces in town for students to engage with the local music scene, which had localised them to the university-only bar and stopped the "cross-pollination" between the local music and student scenes to a degree.
"Having another bar that is so close to the university hosting live music is nothing but good for that, it will help that out immensely."
