Music Without Frontiers, the beloved Hobart record store with more than five decades of history, will temporarily close its doors next Saturday as redevelopment of the wider Hanging Garden precinct gets underway.
DarkLab, the team behind Dark Mofo, announced the closure of the shop at 151 Liverpool Street, saying the store will return as part of the redeveloped precinct, although no reopening date has been announced.
DarkLab took over the store in 2024 following the death of long-time owner Stefan Markovitch, who had devoted 50 years to Hobart’s music culture.
DarkLab CEO and Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said the decision was a difficult one.
“I feel deeply connected to Music Without Frontiers, having been a customer of previous owner Stefan for more than 30 years,” he said.
“I’m grateful to the store’s incredible staff, as well as the customers who have supported it since DarkLab took ownership in 2024.”
Carmichael said the shop would return as part of the redeveloped precinct.
“The shop will reopen and take on a new life as part of the future precinct,” he said.
“Work on the redevelopment continues and we look forward to sharing further updates as the plans take shape.”
The Hanging Garden cultural precinct development includes upgrades to live music venues, existing garden spaces and the cathedral, along with a new hotel, commercial office space, restaurants, bars and food outlets.
The Hanging Garden Group is a partnership between DarkLab and developers Riverlee.
Music Without Frontiers has been buying and selling new, used and collectable vinyl and CDs.
When DarkLab stepped in to keep the store running in 2024, Markovitch’s wife Jenny said her husband had been “overjoyed knowing that DarkLab had decided to continue the store’s future operation as part of In The Hanging Garden.”
The store will hold its final days of trade before closing on August 15.
