Grinspoon, Illy & Peking Duk to Headline the Cambridge Hotel’s Three-Day Farewell Festival

March 23, 2023

Newcastle live music institution the Cambridge Hotel will be shutting its doors for good in June. The venue operators have announced the lineup for a three-day farewell festival that will see the beloved venue off in style.

The three-day farewell will run from Friday, 23rd to Sunday, 25th June. Headliners include Illy, Peking Duk and Grinspoon, as well as Northeast Party House, Jack River, The Rubens, JK-47, Triple One, Dune Rats, Press Club and more.

Grinspoon to play the final ever set at the Cambridge

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Cambridge (@cambridgehotel)

Illy will headline the festival’s hip hop-oriented first night. The bill also features Arno Faraji, Drapht, 360, Sophiya, Thundamentals and Seth Sentry. Peking Duk will deliver a DJ set to close out the Saturday night festivities, following performances from Adam Newling, Boo Seeka, CLYPSO, The Rubens and RAAVE TAPES.

Grinspoon will be the final band to perform on the Cambridge stage, wrapping up the Farewell Festival’s third day, which also includes Polish Club, Hope D, The Hard Aches, The Smith Street Band, British India and more.

The festival will run as a street party, with both an indoor and outdoor stage. General tickets will go on sale next Tuesday, 28th March, with a limited capacity of 3500. You can register for pre-sale here.

The Cambridge is asking any bands who performed at the venue over its decades-long history to register here to be on their official farewell festival shirt.

Silverchair – Live at the Cambridge, 1995

The news of the Cambridge’s impending closure was first revealed in March last year, with reports that the venue would be turned into new accomodation for University of Newcastle students. In a statement released at the time, the Cambo’s lease-holders said they were looking at options to continue the venue’s legacy elsewhere.

“We have had the lease at the Cambridge for 6 years and loved every minute of it,” they wrote. “Sadly, we have never owned the real estate and at the culmination of our lease the life of the Cambo seems like it will come to an end.

“We have plans to make sure the live music scene is still supported in this city and are currently looking at all options. For now, it will be business as usual supporting all levels of music til the end.”

The Cambridge Hotel has been operating since 1958, and over its storied time as a venue has played host to countless legendary acts, including local heroes Silverchair among many, many others.