Live Music in Canberra

Canberra Indie, a sound built on distorted guitars, driving rhythms, and a DIY attitude, is the genre most closely identified with the city, and the artists it has produced carry genuine weight. Genesis Owusu, Peking Duk, SAFIA, Hands Like Houses, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers all came up here, alongside earlier acts like Falling Joys and Tactics who helped define the local alternative rock character. The current venue landscape spreads across the city, from Smith's Alternative and The Howling Moon in Braddon to The Old Canberra Inn in Lyneham and the long-running White Eagle Polish Club in O'Connor, which hosts the respected Live at the Polo series. Canberra also maintains a rising hip-hop and R&B scene, with artists working across rap, trap, and Afrobeat, ensuring the city's musical output extends well beyond the indie sound it is best known for.