Winarch Group has announced a rebrand of Cedar Mill Group to Winarch Music (WM) and Winarch Live (WL). This change unites the business’ tourism, music and events assets under two divisions.
Winarch Music will represent the company’s investment, ownership and management of live entertainment venues and consumer music businesses.
Winarch Music includes the Cedar Mill Amphitheatre, a 30,000-capacity, music venue in Lake Macquarie. Complementing this vision is the Musos Corner music store in Newcastle, acquired by Winarch Group in May 2024, which has received significant investment to enhance its future, including the creation of live performance space Musos Live.
Winarch Group, led by founder and managing director Paul Lambess and CEO Kyle McKendry, also announced the acquisition of the independent guitar store, The Guitar Lounge in Sydney.
“Winarch Group is a business built for the human experience. Our rebrand presents an opportunity to unify the diverse aspects of our Music and Live portfolios under a cohesive identity — one that reflects who we are today, where we are heading and the value we deliver to our stakeholders. We are also proud to welcome our latest acquisition, The Guitar Lounge, a cherished institution with music enthusiasts, to Winarch Group,” said Kyle McKendry, Winarch Group CEO.
Winarch Live, overseen by head of Winarch Live Ewen Craig and newly promoted operations manager David Fortescue, will encompass the Group’s offering of venue, event, safety and management services.
Winarch Live will bring together the event management company Cedar Mill Events and Secure Events and Assets (SEAA), an Australian provider of security and crowd management for major events. In addition, both The Olive Tree Market and The Finders Keepers markets will be integrated into the Winarch Live brand. Winarch Group acquired Newcastle’s The Olive Tree Market in October 2023. In March 2024 Winarch added The Finders Keepers markets.
The rebrand follows two years of Winarch Group’s growth across the music, events and tourism industries, with all businesses now combined under the overarching Winarch Group brand. With this transformation, Winarch Group’s music and events businesses will be united under a cohesive brand.
Winarch Group’s next big investment in the sector will be the second annual Australian Live Music Census, released on Thursday 28 November. The data check is commissioned each year to understand the pulse and perceptions of Australians when it comes to their live music consumption and will help inform venue owners, promoters, policymakers and key stakeholders, to ensure they’re prioritising what people want and need from the live music sector.
