Lockout Law Memorials / Keep Sydney Open

In 2014, Sydney suddenly found itself being put to bed early.

Lockout laws aimed at curbing anti-social behaviour had turned the city into a ghost town in less than a year. Unable to sustain their businesses in a flailing night time economy, live music venues and clubs took a huge hit, with many closing their doors for good.

(Our nanny state government loved it.)

Everyone was talking about alcohol and street fights. But nobody was talking about the music. I realised that many of Australia’s internationally famous artists got their start performing at Sydney’s late night venues. So I created Lockout Law Memorials alongside my mate Tristan Cornelius, to remind our city (and its policy makers) what their nightlife was really worth.

Lockout Law Memorials moved a socially charged debate away from alcohol and violence toward nightlife and culture. Co-signed and boosted organically by some of our most lauded artists from Rufus Du Sol to Lorde, it began trending on youth and culture publications around the country almost immediately. An injection of an unreleased track from Flume tipped it over the edge, attracting attention from Miami to Paris. The campaign ended clocking up over 30 million impressions and received 4000 pieces of editorial.

Our entire campaign was designed to incense Sydney's youth and drive them to the streets for Keep Sydney Open's October rally. Thanks to sustained coverage through this period, we blew the lid off it, attracting 10,000 people and lots of news cameras. Created and executed for under $1000 AUD, it was a nominated finalist at Cannes and The Webbys in 2017 and won a silver at AWARD. The last of the lockout laws were finally abolished in 2025.