Amyl & The Sniffers pick up $35,000 bar tab after free Melbourne gig was cancelled

Amyl & The Sniffers have picked up bar tabs $35,000 for fans in Melbourne after their free show was cancelled last weekend.

• READ MORE: Amyl & The Sniffers on their “compassionate” fans and plans to “hit a bullseye” at Ally Pally

Last Friday (November 14), the band were due to perform at the Fed Square in their hometown of Melbourne. It was free entry and widely promoted in recent weeks, leading to thousands of fans gathering the site.

Just minutes before Amyl & The Sniffers were set to take the stage, the show was cancelled by organisers at the last moment due to safety concerns. The decision was made after a section of the barrier at the front of the crowd broke, causing a large number of fans to breach the barricade.

Following the disappointing announcement that fans had to vacate the premises, the band took to social media to apologise for the cancellation and shared that they would be making up for it by opening up $5,000 worth in bar tabs at seven pubs across the city.

“Have a drink on us, in AC/DC fashion,” frontwoman Amy Taylor said in the video below. “Just have some fun tonight.”

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Later that night, the band updated the post to read: “If [you’re] reading this, the bar tabs are long spent”.

Per the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC), the band’s decision to pump money into seven local pubs helped boost the bars’ business beyond the tabs. Benjamin “Rusty” Russell from The Curtin told the publication: “I was like … Jesus, that’s wild. Absolutely wild. We talk about Melbourne music community — well that is it. [The band] cut their teeth in places like this, so to see them give back like that is amazing.”

JP, a manager at one of the other bars added: “We couldn’t have received any more love than what we’ve received tonight from them. We are one of the first pubs they ever played in. We love them, love what they’ve done for the pub, whether it be for publicity or for the community.”

In other Amyl & The Sniffers news, the punk band were recently confirmed as joining Deftones at All Points East presents Outbreak Fest 2026 next summer. They will also be joining The Cure on the bill for Øya Festival.

As for their recent slot at Reading 2025, NME gave the performance a glowing four-star review and praised Amy Taylor and co. for the intensity of their set. “As Taylor flexes her muscles and her banter-filled, boisterous bandmates slap one another’s arses and lead chants of “OI! OI! OI! OI!”, this little pocket of joy feels weirdly like one of the few places on Earth that makes sense amid all the fuckery of the world,” it read.

“And this, pure unbridled punk pleasure, is exactly what the iconic Reading & Leeds main stage was built for – especially at this sweet pre-sunset slot.”

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