IT’S a new era for Canberra‘s popular Transit Bar, now transferred from Akuna Street to downstairs at Baileys Arcade in the centre of Civic on the site of the former Hog’s Breath Café and renamed Transit Gig City.

At a “soft” launch for bands and industry insiders last Friday, January 28, a group of trainee staff were seen whizzing around sanitising stations and learning the ropes, overseen by co-owner Charlotte Reynolds, venue manager Kieran Bunton and well-known Canberra musician Joel Tyrell as operations manager.

It’s a case of the phoenix rising from the ashes. The old Transit bar in Akuna Street, was a scene for famous bands, local MCs, DJs and up-and-coming musicians, but the two owners, Charlotte and Ben Reynolds, were daunted by the increasing encroachment of hotels and complaints about noise, so closed it down in May 2020.

The Reynolds made no bones about the frustrations with the old Akuna Street location, so have been on the hunt for a better location ever since, hoping to retain some of the intimacy so that locals can find their feet while touring bands can perform as well.

Music ACT CEO Daniel Ballantyne thinks they’ve found the ideal spot. At the soft launch he praised the capacious venue, saying, “with such a central position, it will become the place to go to in Civic for bands.

Ballantyne said he believed the ACT music industry was in remarkably good shape considering the ravages of covid. He added that there was a special quality to Canberra where musicians could get together with others and blend to make music.

Tyrell told “CityNews” that while the old Transit could at best accommodate 80 to 90 people in its narrow confines, the licence for Transit Gig City was for 396 people, once covid restrictions were lifted, that is.

“Our goal is to host medium-sized touring bands, but the value is still quite intimate,” he said.

Its underground location, he said, was a plus.

“It’s like a dingy bar and has something of an underground feel, it feels like you’re going down into a space.”

And no expense has been spared to make it comfortable, with a very contemporary food menu, acoustic panels on the ceiling, three new pool tables – that was a feature of the old place – and the timber from Hogs Breath Cafe now repurposed to create a place with atmosphere, with posters on walls just as in the old place.

The immediate plan, he said, was to open for the rest of February starting this week, from Thursdays to Saturdays from 3pm to late and maybe sometimes with an extra night, and see how things go. And every night there would be live music, drinks and delicious food.

This Thursday, February 4, will feature the band Archie, who were also there on Friday, along with singer-songwriter Sophie Edwards and Muesli, then every Friday there would be a curated night, an instrumental jam for musicians from around Canberra.

“It’s the kind of space people of been waiting for,” Tyrell said.

Transit Gig City, downstairs at Bailey’s Corner,  Civic, open Thursday to Saturday 3pm to late.