Perth’s Y-HQ Youth Music Venue to Be Demolished in 2028
Y-HQ, a Leederville venue that has hosted young Perth artists for more than two decades, will be torn down in 2028 for a car park. Musicians and industry leaders voiced concern, as the future of all-ages festival HyperFest also hangs in the balance.
Y-HQ, a youth live music venue in Leederville, Perth, will be demolished in 2028 to make way for a multi-storey car park, Mayor Alison Xamon said this week. The decision has stirred concern for decades-old youth music spaces in Western Australia.
The venue has helped young artists and music fans for more than two decades. A replacement is not expected to be finished until at least 2029.
What replaces it
Xamon said the new building would include an all-ages live music venue and a youth services space beneath the car park. She said the development would also bring green spaces and a revamped skate park, and be more accessible for people with disability.
An interim gig space would be set up while construction runs.
Industry reaction
WA Music chief executive Owen Whittle said the news came as a surprise. He did not dispute that the venue had seen better days.
"I don't think anyone would debate or disagree with the fact that the Y had seen better days, but there isn't a lot of public information out about what the new venue looks like and what the interim arrangements will be," he said.
Whittle called the venue unique. "We might lose the next Tame Impala or the next Spacey Jane, the kind of artists who when they're very young, this is their place to perform, this is their place to develop audience," he said.
He said the industry had seen "a steep decline" in opportunities for young people to engage with music.
Oscar Cvitan, 18, of WA band Birdland, built a strong fan base playing at Y-HQ. "It's one of the only venues where we can play to all fans regardless of their age identity because it's such an accommodating place," he said.
HyperFest uncertainty
The news landed in the same week as questions over HyperFest, WA's longest-running all-ages festival, held in Midland. Past lineups have featured WA and interstate acts including South Summit, San Cisco, Ruby Fields and Spacey Jane.
A 2025 review by the City of Swan found the festival "was not achieving the outcomes desired for young people who reside within the city". It also noted a high cost to ratepayers, more than $244,000 last year.
The review recommended pausing the festival next year. Councillors overturned that at a council meeting on Wednesday night.
Councillor Rashelle Predovnik, who voted for the event to continue, said it was not known when it would be held next year.
Whittle said losing HyperFest would be "just such an astronomical loss for young people's access to music if it wasn't cemented well into the future". He said the two pieces of news within a week had "really sent the all-ages community sideways".
Grace Newton-Wordsworth, singer with Joan and the Giants, said the festival had been imperative for young musicians like her. "If we want to have a local scene and we want to have the future bands coming through from WA, we need to have these venues and access and festivals," she said.
