Since the 1920s, listening bars have been a fixture of Japanese nightlife, centring around listening over talking, and fostering a deep appreciation for music.
That culture was reimagined recently in Sydney’s Inner West through All Ears – an experience powered by Sonos audio equipment within the Inner West Ale Trail that brought the art of focused listening to five local breweries.
Each night was curated and hosted by Sydney DJ and tastemaker Andrew Levins, who introduced the album and stayed on the decks for a genre-matching set once the final track played out.
“There was this nexus of music and going out, content and food craft brewing, and how we brought that together through vinyl, as the artist intended.”
– Rennie Addabbo, Sonos Country Director
The series kicked off at Mixtape Brewing and Bar in Marrickville with Dark Side of the Rainbow (Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon synced with The Wizard of Oz), followed by Outkast’s Stankonia at Future Brewing. INXS’s Kick was featured at Chuck and Sons Brewing Co, Radiohead’s Kid A at Wayward Brewing Co, and Mulatu Astatke’s Mulatu of Ethiopia closed the run at Wildflower.
For Jacqui Stanton, District Coordinator of the Inner West Ale Trail, the collaboration was a chance to showcase the Inner West's unique identity – and put it on the map.
“The Inner West Ale Trail is the craft capital of Australia – it's 18 hyper local craft breweries in Sydney’s coolest suburbs. The tragedy is that internationally, tourists don’t know about it,” said Stanton.
Four of the five events sold out, with two needing to expand capacity to meet demand – something Stanton credits to the power of the “District model”.
“The power of market[ing] yourself as a collective on a placemaking or destination brand level is up to a hundred times what you can do individually. For consumers, it means we’re offering a much wider experience and allows us as Districts to do really cool things that we couldn’t do otherwise,” she added.
Left: Jacqui Stanton, District Coordinator of Inner West Ale Trail. Right: Rennie Addabbo, Country Director at Sonos.
The Inner West Ale Trail is one of NSW’s growing stable of Districts formed under the Office of the 24-Hour Economy’s Uptown District Acceleration Program. Introduced in 2022, the District model brings neighbouring businesses together under a shared identity – helping them build stronger connections with audiences and brands.
“We’ve been working on the Uptown Program for a number of years now and we’re starting to see the emergence of Districts at maturity. It means businesses who work together well, have a coherent story, repeat visitation and an audience who trust the experience in their area,” said 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, Michael Rodrigues.
“It’s really the emergence of a new player in the going-out economy.”
– Mike Rodrigues, NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner
Mixtape Brewing’s lead brewer, Jason Newton, said the event was a chance to welcome new customers and deliver a full sensory experience.
“We love running events like this because you get first-time customers and repeat customers, [getting] to experience the venue as a whole with food, sound, drinks, all in one package,” he said.
“The Inner West Ale Trail has really helped us as there’s a lot more foot traffic now. We get to leverage off other breweries doing other events, and it’s all worked together really well to create a longer experience for people to enjoy.”
To discover more events and opportunities in the Inner West Ale Trail, visit their page on Neon Marketplace – or explore the other Districts across NSW.
The red glow of the Coca-Cola sign in King's Cross has long been perceived as the heart of Sydney's nightlife. Likewise, Barangaroo, Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo have been part and parcel of the going-out experience for most Sydneysiders and visitors. But now, things are beginning to change.
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