Residents of a south coast town are set to mourn the death of live music later this week.
A satirical funeral will be held at a Kiama’s café on Friday night as an extended battle with Kiama Municipal Council continues.
The war between Finding Fillmore’s owner Morgan Lewis and the Kiama council has raged for 18 months. Mr Lewis has fought to have live music and performances at the premises but council has denied the application.
Singer-songwriter Kingsley James who played at Finding Fillmore’s as recently as last Sunday, said councils should do more to support local aspiring musicians.
“Having those smaller venues to play at, they are really critical, that’s where you make a lot of your connections and friends,” he said.
“You need to have as many venues as possible open, because if there are no gigs then there is no money, there is no way of making a living.”
Mr Lewis told the Illawarra Mercury he funeral is to “wave goodbye to culture in Kiama.”
The council claims that Finding Filmore’s doesn’t meet the standards of the café’s planning approvals and that is why they are not supposed to have amplified music.
Kiama Municipal Council CEO Jane Stroud told WIN News Illawarra the council would not tolerate rules being broken.
“What we will never tolerate is people operating without the required rules and without the right kinds of assessment processes in place,” Ms Stroud said.
Mr James said shutting down local venues for live music would kill the organic growth of art and culture in local areas.
“As a musician, I think it is supercritical for venues to remain open, and at the same time, it creates a social scene to go and meet people,” he said.
“You can’t ignore the arts; it’s what people live for.”
The funeral is set to take place at 8.30pm this Friday to align with the council-imposed deadline.
Finding Fillmore’s is located in a mixed-use zone and began operating without consent from Kiama Council, however, after prompts by the council, a retrospective complying development certificate was obtained by a private certifier.