During the 1970s and 80s, the nation's musical roads led to Adelaide, which was then revelling in a golden age of rock 'n' roll.
Not only did Adelaide produce big-name acts, it attracted them as well.
"It was fantastic, it was really vibrant," photographer Eric Algra recalled.
"You got the newspaper on a Thursday and you looked at the gig guide — it was just rows and rows of things happening."
Among the names you might have spotted were Blondie, Talking Heads, The Clash and Bob Marley.
"Adelaide was very much the cradle of rock 'n' roll and I think it was because we had all these people from England who came and set up camp at Elizabeth," Redgum frontman John Schumann said.
"That was a massive, massive, vibrant creative hub."
In the middle of the scene was Algra, who emerged as one of the city's best music photojournalists.
More than 50 of his most striking snaps have now gone on display at the Ian and Pamela Wall Gallery on the rooftop of Her Majesty's Theatre in the city.
"This was really an Adelaide story that hadn't actually been told," curator Helen Trepa said.
The catalyst for the exhibition was an image from 1977.
"It all started with an intriguing photograph I spotted of Blondie (Debbie Harry) standing in Hindley Street with what looked like a bag of potatoes in an article about Roadrunner music magazine," Trepa said.
It did not take long for Algra to become Roadrunner's main photographer.
His job was to capture the essence of every big band strutting the Adelaide stages.
While he vividly remembers his time with English band Madness, it was home-grown Australian and Adelaide rock legends Cold Chisel that was his personal favourite.
"They were full-on," he said,
"I think they had one period where they seemed to start at one volume, as the night wore on they got louder and louder and the crowd went crazier and crazier."
The charisma and magnetism of the bands' frontwomen and men attracted Algra's lens, from the sex appeal of Michael Hutchence to the raw energy of Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett and the Divinyls' Chrissy Amplett.
Schumann is amazed at the memories that came flooding back when he first saw the photos.
"I am delighted to see Eric's work as a real photographer — as opposed to someone with a digital camera, he's the real deal."
A photo of Schumann during a gig as part of popular band Redgum is featured in the exhibition.
"It was at the Burnside Town Hall in one of the early gigs that Redgum did," he reminisced.
"I had a Bay City Rollers T-shirt that somebody gave me, I thought the Bay City Rollers were execrable and I basically wore the Bay City Rollers T-shirt on stage as an exercise in deep political irony."
Schumann said those who lived through the 70s and 80s would take a trip down memory lane when they see the exhibition's photos.
But he believes the collection's reach should go much further.
"For the young musicians who are emerging today, what I would say is, come and have a look at this, immerse yourself in the imagery," Schumann said.
Algra is now semi-retired but is dismayed at how rock gigs are covered in modern times.
"They know how to work a camera because it's not so difficult and they point it at the stage and they come away with a photo," he said.
"For me, there's a bit more to it than that."
Helen Trepa was a cash-strapped university student during Adelaide's golden era and used to listen to the big gigs from outside venues including the Adelaide Oval and Apollo Stadium.
But she firmly believes this is one exhibition rock 'n' roll lovers cannot afford to miss.
