One of Ballarat's finest live music venues, The Eastern on Humffray Street, will host its last gig on Friday night for the foreseeable future, amid insurance woes as the business seeks to rebuild.
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The Eastern's Matt Stone said it was disappointing to be "struggling to get public liability insurance" after two years of COVID-induced disruptions, and just before its fourth birthday celebration.
"We've got a few leads (for new insurers), we'll know a bit more in a couple of weeks, but there's been significant increases, and unavailability," he said.
"We just can't trade without public liability.
"It's been a problem right across the country, we're one of the first to fall, but there will be others - it's a big issue, we need to sort it out."
Mr Stone said the business had been searching for a new insurer for months, but unable to secure a new public liability policy, which meant the doors would be shut at 4pm on Saturday.
He blamed international conditions for the difficulty post-pandemic, but remained hopeful a new insurer will be secured within weeks.
"It's got to do with a lot of international incidents like fires and balcony collapses - our little venue doesn't have any problems," he said.
"Music venues are the safest venues in the world at the minute, it's ridiculous."
The Eastern was among several venues that received grant money from the state government in the middle of COVID lockdowns, which helped keep doors open and eventually enabled gigs to restart.
The venue's last gig - for now - will be Melbourne rockers MOD CON on Friday night, supported by Sarah Mary Chadwick - tickets are $30 and on sale now.
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Another 11 gigs are booked at the pub through to mid-June.
"After all the shit we've been through in the last couple of years, to have this, we have no words," Mr Stone said.
"(But) it's a matter of time, it'll be a couple of weeks, hopefully - we won't survive if it's a couple of months."
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