Newtown’s King Street Crawl is returning this Sunday, after a two-year hiatus.
The live music festival will take over King Street, Erskineville Road and Enmore Road, celebrating Newtown’s vibrant music, culture, and community.
Over 160 different acts will perform at various venues, including the popular Pleasure Club, Coopers Hotel and Websters.

King Street Crawl is making its way back to the streets of Newtown this Sunday for an incredible day (and night) of free live music. After a two-year hiatus, the Crawl will light up King Street, Erskineville Road and Enmore Road, with participating venues hosting more than 160 artists throughout the day.

Participants of the Crawl will have free entry to over 25 venues across Newtown, including favourites like Botany View Hotel, BUDDY’S and Pleasure Club.

What is King Street Crawl?

Back in 2014, Matt Rule — former owner of the Annandale Hotel in Sydney’s Inner West — had first-hand experience of the lockout laws and their impact, and wanted to prevent Newtown from succumbing to the same fate. He joined forces with The Music and Booze Co. to launch the festival in 2015 with one simple ambition: to create opportunities for musicians to perform and for local businesses to welcome new customers. Breathing life into Newtown.

Drawing inspiration from festivals like SXSW and the music-filled streets of Nashville, their vision was to bring that same vibrant energy to Sydney’s Inner West.

The Crawl kicked off in 2015, with over 40 artists playing in venues from St Peters to Sydney University. After running annually until 2019, the event took a brief hiatus and made its return in 2022 under a new name: the King Street Carnival. The future of the event remained uncertain after 2022, but, after a short two-year absence, the team behind the Crawl have obtained a grant from the Australian Government’s Revive Live program, bringing back the event in 2025.

This year will be reminiscent of the original Crawl — a free event that takes over the streets of Newtown while celebrating local venues, artists and community.

Images from King Street Crawl in 2022. (Image supplied.)

Which venues are participating?

Official venues taking part in this year’s Crawl are:

Botany View Hotel
Bootleggers
BUDDY’S
Coopers Hotel
Kelly’s On King
Marly Bar
Mary’s
MoshPit Bar
Newtown Hotel
Palomino Lounge
Pleasure Club
The Bank Hotel
The Duke
The Enmore Hotel
The Hive Bar
The Midnight Special
The Trocadero
The Union
The Vanguard
The Vic
The Warren View
Tokyo Sing Song
Upstairs Marly
Uncanny
Waywards
Websters

Mac the Knife will perform at the Union Hotel. (Image supplied).

Which artists are performing?

Over 160 artists are performing at the Crawl this year, including a few well-known staples of the Sydney music scene. Sydney-based band Mac the Knife will play at the Union Hotel at 8pm. The lead singer of the popular band is known for portraying ‘Spider’ in the popular Netflix show Heartbreak High. VV Pete, who recently performed at The Studio for Vivid Festival, will be performing at Waywards from 9:30pm onwards.

Popular Aboriginal rapper, Yung Brother, will be taking over the Marly Upstairs at 8:05pm. He’s known for his raw and unapologetic style and his heritage-inspired sound. Primitive Blast, who draw their inspiration from classic punk and modern hardcore, will be playing the Duke of Enmore at 9pm.

Queer Indie Pop Rock artist Ixaras will be playing at the Inner West Pride Center (the time is not confirmed yet). She’s known for her catchy melodies and honest lyrics, which are sure to attract a crowd at the Crawl.

Want to see who else is hitting the stage in Newtown? Click here for the full artist lineup.

More footage from the 2022 King Street Crawl. (Image supplied.)

Do I have to buy a ticket?

The King Street Crawl is completely free to attend; however, the team behind the festival are encouraging guests to RSVP so that numbers can be taken into account and used to justify the continuation of the festival. You can RSVP for free here.

The rule of the Crawl is first in, best dressed, so make sure you plan out your day and prioritise the concerts you don’t want to miss.