"I have lived in St Kilda, (I first moved to Grey Street in about 1991) and Balaclava. I have spent many years going to see live music from the 1980s until now at the Prince of Wales, The Espy, Greyhound Hotel and many more venues. I have frequented and played at many venues in St Kilda over the years.

St Kilda is a great place to play and it has attracted a wide variety of people. I moved to St Kilda when I was in my early 20s and I was extremely inspired by all the musicians and bands that I saw all the time at some of the main pubs in St Kilda, and there are still people in St Kilda who keep the live precinct going "

Spiral Staircase at the Greyhound Hotel, c. 2000 - Source: Jo Richards

"I loved the Greyhound Hotel, but I think the Espy is my favourite.

I remember once I played at The Espy with Cadillac in the Gershwin room and it was a really big deal for me and at the last minute I discovered I’d forgotten the lead from my bass head to my amp.

I jumped off stage and ran down stairs to the Star Wars bar. Luckily my old friend Bryan Colechin was playing and he kindly lent me his spare and I made it back to the Gershwin room in the nick of time."

The Antoinettes at The Vineyard, 2013, source: Jo Richards

"Women who I have seen play in St Kilda are Joey Bedlam at the Greyhound with Doll Squad in about 2007, she was a groovy performer; Susan Shaw playing drums with the Exotics at the Greyhound. Susan was an entertaining drummer and she kept gigging while she was pregnant with her three sons. I always loved seeing Mia stone singing in Satellite at The Prince of Wales: Megan Bawden had the best guitar playing arms, Vivienne Gaye in Butterfly at the Greyhound Hotel. Rock'n'rRoll Rachel (RIP) with her Flying V in Womnal at the Prince of Wales; Phaedra on cello with Satellite and Womnal; Cathy Green on drums with X at the Prince of Wales and more recently, Fiona Lee Maynard in The Delicados at George Lane."

Monsteria at Lost, 2024 - Source: Jo Richards