Burwood is Australia’s coolest suburb and has Chinatown – now it’s coming for music

• Burwood has recently been named Sydney’s “second Chinatown” with its bustling hawker market and spread of neon.
• But now the suburb is trying to bring more events and live music to kick up its nightlife offering.
• We are witnessing the birth of a new trending suburb to highlight Sydney’s diversity.

Burwood has been named the 16th coolest suburb in the world in Time Out’s yearly analysis of trending urban tangles.

Earlier this year, Burwood was marked as one of the state’s emerging Special Entertainment Precincts (which basically strips away the red tape to push for a more vibrant nightlife) and has, for the past year, been touted as Sydney’s “second Chinatown,” with the local council really pushing the area’s culinary diversity.

Burwood is the fifth-most diverse community in the country, pushing a stacked food scene that soaks locals and visitors in a complex culinary culture. You’ve got some of the city’s best and most affordable Japanese and Southeast Asian food, right alongside Greek, Italian, and even Uyghur. And that’s before you even get to the Chinese food, which spans many regions and tastes.

At night, the neon-lit Burwood Chinatown hawker market squeezes 50 stalls into a visually stunning spread of home-style cooking that’s both exciting and convenient. For anyone who visits, there’s little wonder as to why attention has been shifting from Haymarket to Burwood as of late.

Burwood’s Ford Lane gets a glow up

By day, Burwood is a peaceful suburb where picnics in Burwood Park break up a day of shopping at the massive Westfield, which dates back to the 1960s, and Emerald Square. The tone shifts dramatically at night once the neon starts to shadow the streets with multiple colours and Burwood Chinatown springs to life.

But that’s just one part of what’s drawing people to Burwood. Now, the suburb is kicking up its nightlife offering with the introduction of Fridays at Ford Lane.

Ford Lane is a tight strip tucked between Burwood Road and Burleigh Street, extending off Railway Parade (so it’s just a quick skip from Burwood Station). While it has traditionally been a convenient parking spot for visitors, the local council is using its newfound Special Entertainment Precinct powers to transform it into an outdoor nightlife hub, complete with large, colourful murals and lighting installations.

Fridays at Ford Lane will transform the laneway into Sydney’s newest outdoor live music stage, inspiring a free series of weekend revelry that welcomes musicians, artists, and chefs for a good old-fashioned street party.

The event series will run through spring, with each edition showcasing a new side of Asia’s thriving pop scene. Already on the cards are local DJs like Hideoboo and DOOFus, as well as singers like Venice Qin and dance crews TODAY&ALWAYS and DanceKool. The scope spans everything from C-Pop and K-Pop to Asian hip hop, framed by steamy street food and pop-up bars.

Head through on Halloween, October 31, and you’ll find a hip hop block party with DJ Rydeen, MC Mari and beatboxer Voltak. Rock up a few weeks later on November 28, and there’ll be gypsy jazz and world beats with several local multi-instrumentalists.

Burwood has clearly centred its diversity as a major attraction, and a big part of its cool factor, so taking the same approach to live music makes perfect sense.

Fridays at Ford Lane is part of a wider plan by Burwood Council (the “Ford Lane Transformation Project”) to transform this underused part of the suburb and make it a permanent stage for arts and entertainment. Various upgrades are being made to the small strip, including a new power supply and removable bollards to make it a dynamic event space.

How to get to Burwood from the CBD

If you’ve just arrived in the heart of Sydney and are trying to figure out how to get to Burwood, take note of the many train lines and bus services that’ll take you straight there.

How to get to Burwood by train: Burwood Station is a stop on the T1, T2 and T3 lines that leave regularly from Wynyard, Town Hall and Central Stations.

How to get to Burwood by bus: Services N60, N50 and N61 depart from the Hyde Park (just outside of Museum Station) and stop at Burwood.