Thousands of lockout protestors are hitting Sydney streets this weekend

Thousands of protestors will be taking over the streets of Sydney this weekend for an anti-lockout rally.

More than 7,000 people have already clicked attending on the Keep Sydney Open Facebook event, with another 9,000 plus interested. The group is calling for people to meet at the city's Belmore Park at 12.30pm this Sunday, February 21. The rally will then make its way into the CBD just after 1pm, stopping at Bar Century (which will soon become the latest venue to close its doors) to conduct a mock funeral for all the venues, small businesses and jobs lost since the lockouts' introduction.

Prominent industry figures including Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures and iconic Australian rock musician Dave Faulkner will be speaking at the event, which will be emceed by Keep Sydney Open's Tyson Koh. Art Vs Science will also be playing live.

The anti-lockout movement has gained a huge amount of momentum in the past week, with Sydney artists and members of the public slamming the laws and NSW premier Mike Baird over a Facebook post ranting about their success (using dodgy figures). The laws are currently up for review.

A 17,000 person strong 2010 protest in Melbourne against strict licensing conditions for live music venues is credited with being a pivotal moment in the shift towards a more supportive approach to live music in the city.

Check out the Keep Sydney Open rally's event page here.

Scott Carbines is Mixmag's Australia Online News Editor, follow him on Twitter here.