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This is what it looks like when 7 pubs and bars fight back for Sydney nightlife

Meet Me In The Cross was the music festival hosted by the Keep Sydney Open movement over the weekend, aimed to fight back against Sydney’s controversial lock-out laws.

Kings Cross was known for its night life, and now it’s known for the opposite. The weekend’s festival was one huge leap in the right direction. 

An overwhelming amount of support on Saturday night at Meet Me In The Cross was reason enough to believe laws can be changed, if not retracted.

Meet Me In The Cross was about protecting Kings Cross venues from being recognised as a crime scene due to a handful of people (that, for lack of a better term) ruined it for everyone. With the help of an old-fashioned government, it didn’t take long before the laws came crashing down, harder and heavier than ever.

Sprawled across seven venues including The Kings Cross Hotel, The World Bar, Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point Hotel, Crane Bar, Jangling Jack’s and Sweethearts Rooftop, it’s needless to say that Meet Me In The Cross was soaring with energy.

As bodies scampered in from all directions to show how a weekend in the east-side of Sydney can come alive, people prepared themselves for what would be six hours of non-stop partying. Whether or not they were burning with passion for the cause, or if it was just the alcohol talking, it’s fair to say each bar was making their fair share of tips.

With the help of some major acts such as Hermitude, Thundamentals, Nina Las Vegas and Fishing spinning the decks, Kings Cross was oozing with good vibes and surprisingly, respectful drunk people. For myself it was a brilliant introduction to a few acts on the line-up, and I’ll just go ahead and note that the performances extended well into the early hours. 

And despite what some would have you think, the tail-end of the night was even better than the intro.

All in all, the weekend is a time for people to have a drink, let their hair down, and dance off the enormous build-up of stress inhabited from the working week, or just general Sydney traffic. Too many rules and regulations could result in stress inversion, and ultimately an unhappy society.

Keep Sydney Open, and keep the peace. 

READ: Keeping Sydney Open: a late night conversation with Tyson Koh