By Kate Lockyer
CEO of QMusic Kris Stewart (pictured) is passionate about seeing Fortitude Valley, Brisbane’s live music and entertainment hub, become something remarkable.
“We are extraordinarily lucky in many ways with Fortitude Valley. It is the densest population of music venues in the Southern Hemisphere, but not through a plan… (it’s) one of the greatest and luckiest turns of fate for the music industry in our community,” Stewart said.
“This should be one of the key things we are bragging about to the world when the Olympics hit. And while it is exactly where it should be today, it can’t be where it is today, in eight years’ time.”
It is not just music businesses, but restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues that benefit from the valley’s nighttime economy.
The businesses that engage with the valley are changing too, with new technology companies evolving the identity of the area, including juggernaut Technology One, and international musical distribution service GYROstream.
Stewart said with the construction of more ‘build to rent’ apartments in the next year, there is a stronger block of people who live and work there who deserve ongoing support.
He observed that the valley, with its various transport and entertainment options, is one of the most natural places for residential density in the city.
Over Stewart’s three years at the helm of QMusic, he has seen this growth and hopes the area can embrace it, especially with the Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The Olympics isn’t setting us up to be a sport city… what happened to Barcelona after the Olympics is it became an international destination for food, for lifestyle; an Olympics is the greatest marketing campaign a city ever has,” he said.
While the valley has been let down by buildings that have been closed for years, Stewart said it is a great opportunity for leadership by the Brisbane City Council.
He is hoping that post-election, the council will be re-energised and able to be passionate “flag-wavers” for the valley.
“There’s a really easy way to solve some of these problems, and it’s just called money, just called a commitment.”
“When we talk about Fortitude Valley, we describe it as The Tivoli to The Triffid to Felons, or we say it’s RNA to James Street, to Howard Smith Wharves, because we think it’s this platinum triangle of entertainment and lifestyle options,” he said.
“But do you know that when you’re there? Or is Fortitude Valley just one mall, with a couple of great yiros shops?
“We don’t actually stand in Fortitude Valley and face the world with its identity telling that story, and I think that’s another of the really important things we have to do…
“We need to claim the valley as our own Soho or Tribeca – ‘The Valley’ should be the brand.”
“We should lean into what is a really glamourous crime history, the Chinatown history is fantastic, obviously the music history is fantastic.”
While he is supportive of redevelopment in the valley, Stewart insists it needs to stay unique and interesting.
“We can’t just homogenize the identity of the valley,” he said.
Stewart believes the future of Chinatown Mall means acknowledging its heritage but moving forward with a precinct that reflects the current use of the valley, focusing on technology and business, especially when we have a diverse and extraordinary Asian community in Sunnybank.
“I think it’s naturally become a place of entertainment and creativity, a place of technology and music.”
