Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are very different cities, but one thing they had in common was The Hi-Fi. In each city, The Hi-Fi offered what is becoming an increasingly rare home for local and international bands of a certain size. Band rooms that can hold around 1,000 people are a crucial element to ensuring a vibrant music culture in a city, so it was with a lot of consternation that news broke of the Hi-Fi venues entering voluntary administration earlier this year.

In happy news, it’s now confirmed The Hi-Fi will live on as Max Watt’s House of Music (the name is a play on “maximum wattage”). In a press release issued today, new CEO Greg Bourke says it’s “business as usual for the venues.” While many experienced Hi-Fi staff will remain under the new management, The Hi-Fi’s long time booker, James Power, who was retained by administrators to keep the venues going while they looked for buyers, is now working on a new venture.

In coming weeks there will be rapid rebranding and renovations. We can expect better lighting and spruced-up sound systems from Max Watt’s, and in further good news, all tickets for 2015 will be honoured. “Music fans can look forward to a great line-up at our venues in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane,” says Bourke. “All of the highly experienced and passionate venue staff [are] staying on.”