Caravan Music Club - The Carnival of Suburbia

Picture this: a chock-a-block room, and amongst the crowd, the heroes of your rock’n’roll heyday. They’ve packed onto a small wooden stage, and they’re grinning maniacally as they belt out a tribute to your suburb: ‘East Murrumbeena’, to the tune of Cuban classic ‘Guantanamera’.

When you get into the live music game, says Peter Foley, it’s not for the glory and definitely not for the hard-to-come-by cash. That picture is the reason you do it. And after a year running Oakleigh’s Caravan Music Club, he counts the scene among plenty of highlights.

While inner-city venues battle noise-sensitive neighbours, tough license conditions, and rising rents, the Oakleigh RSL has proved a near-perfect refuge for live music – and for hordes of music-loving suburbanites.

“Part of what’s keeping me hanging on, is that our only neighbours are in a graveyard behind the place, and they’re very acquiescent!” Foley laughs.

Like grunge kids in the garage, Foley started his venue management in his own lounge room, more than a decade ago. “When we got 70 people in for a Dave Graney gig, it became pretty clear a lot of people were keen,” he says. “We couldn’t get out a lot, so we wanted to bring the world to us, and to the suburbs.”

Only months after launching, the Caravan hosted the inaugural Carnival of Suburbia, featuring Tim Rogers, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, and the Blackeyed Susans. “It’s a nice juxtaposition to get these cool rock acts into the suburban environment – because it’s not their natural environment,” Foley says. “But then Tim Rogers said to me, ‘I love this fucking place!’ He came here three times last year.”

The Carnival is on again from March 8, with locals including Wagons and the Celibate Rifles, and US country rockers Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen.

The Carnival of Suburbia, Carnival Caravan Club, 8-18 Mar.

More gigs, concerts, bands and music in Melbourne? Sign up to our weekly newsletter