Geelong’s notorious Little Malop St mall has been given a much-needed facelift as local up-and-coming musicians help to make the area safer for all.

Cody (left) and Levi (right) Anderson performing in the Little Malop St mall. Photo: Nicholas Vanmeel
The City of Greater Geelong recently held the July Street Entertainment Program, which gave local artists the opportunity to take to the stage in the Geelong mall and perform for the public.
Each day throughout the month, a different musician would dazzle a crowd of onlookers, creating a much happier and vibrant vibe in the mall, which has been plagued with violent incidents and unsociable behaviour in the past.
One of these musicians, Levi Anderson, who performs with his brother Cody, was glad his music was part of a program that aimed to change perceptions of the mall area.
“I think just the atmosphere in general is a little bit more positive, so it becomes a little bit more inviting,” he said.
Anderson has performed in the mall in the past.
“I play here around about once every couple of weeks, especially throughout summer. Here in town, I play some covers from the 80s and onwards, we try to play songs that we are interested in rather than your classic pub rock,” he said.
The council’s initiative to bring more live music to Little Malop St appears to be helping to revitalise the Geelong mall, according to Anderson, by beginning to change its reputation of being an unsafe place to be.
“I think it’s doing a fair bit for that already, since I’ve been playing here just in general the whole area has been revitalised,” he said.
“Especially when we’re playing, the general vibe of the whole thing is that everyone is around to have a good time, people are sitting there, there’s a lot of laughing and dancing and stuff, which is fun”.
You can find more of Anderson’s music through his band The Kite Machine, who play regularly around Geelong, or follow his Facebook page Levi Anderson Music.