News: Amyl And The Sniffers $35k Hangover

November 16, 2025 rocknews

PISS-OFF CANCELLATION? SNIFF THIS! AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS DROP $35K BAR TAB ON MELBOURNE’S FACE

Melbourne’s punk royalty, Amyl and the Sniffers, just proved they’re the only rock band on the planet who truly gets it. After a massive, free, all-ages gig at Fed Square turned into a chaotic safety nightmare on Friday, November 14, 2025, and got brutally shut down, the band pulled the most legendary move in Australian music history: they dropped their entire appearance fee—a colossal $35,000 AUD—on local pub tabs for their heartbroken fans.

Forget your weak-ass refund line. This is a city-wide, booze-soaked punk rock apology, powered by the band’s refusal to keep a cent they didn’t earn.

The Fed Square Fiasco: Too Much Punk for the Plaza

Frontwoman Amy Taylor and the boys were set to tear the roof off Fed Square with a free hometown show, a generous thank you to the fans supporting their recent run with AC/DC. But when you offer free punk rock, you get a beautiful, untameable monster.

The crowds—hundreds more than anticipated—smashed past perimeter fences. Organisers and police had a safety meltdown, fearing a massive crowd crush. The result? The gig was cancelled before Amyl and the Sniffers could even play a note. The band was, in their own words, “fuming and shattered.”

But while the authorities and organisers were scrambling, Amyl and the Sniffers got to work on a pure, unfiltered act of generosity.

The Boozy Bounty: Why Amyl and the Sniffers $35k Bar Tab is Legendary

Instead of banking the cash, the band took their whole fee and spread the love across the city’s most crucial local music haunts—the venues that actually keep Melbourne’s heart beating.

They split the $35,000 AUD into seven equal tabs of $5,000 AUD and told their fans: HAVE A DRINK ON US.

This wasn’t some corporate marketing stunt; it was a defiant shout-out to the small bars that host the next generation of punk noise. Here are the battle-hardened venues that received a slice of the pie:

• The Tote Hotel: The undisputed home of Melbourne rock.

• Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar: Exactly what it sounds like. Gritty, loud, perfect.

• The John Curtin Hotel: The spiritual home of pub rock.

• Cherry Bar: Down AC/DC Lane, where the music never stops.

• The Old Bar: Sticky floors, cheap beer, real punk.

• Hell’s Kitchen: A tiny, chaotic icon of the scene.

• The Labour in Vain Hotel: Northside legend, an essential rock watering hole.

Totaling a mind-blowing Amyl and the Sniffers $35k bar tab, the act immediately sparked a city-wide stampede, only this time, it was a stampede to the bar for free booze, not a mosh pit.

It’s the ultimate move: they didn’t just compensate their fans, they used their non-existent gig fee to turbo-charge the entire local scene. That’s not just generosity; that’s genuine punk rock solidarity. This move confirms it: Amyl and the Sniffers are absolute f***ing legends.