The National Portrait Gallery is more than happy to oblige, with its latest exhibition of portraits and photographs that tell the story of Australia's music scene from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Pub Rock is drawn mainly from the gallery's own collection, with much-loved portraits spanning three decades, with 1960s acts like the Easybeats and Little Pattie, shots of the Bee Gees from the 1970s, and 80s mainstays like Split Enz.

There's even a smile-inducing - and very coy - portrait of Olivia Newton John greeting you as you round a corner, along with Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Rose Tattoo, Cold Chisel and Yothu Yindi.

Curator Penny Grist said the show had been "incredibly joyful" to put together in what turned out to be a record amount of time - just three months.

"It was all hands on deck, and it's amazing how enjoyable and lovely and enlivening it is to be looking at crowds of live audiences from the 70s and 80s, when you're all separately in lockdown," she said.

She said the show was filled with familiar faces for several generations of Australians and, in a time when live music is off the cards, would remind people of the joy of sweaty crowds and smoky stages.

"I think it taps into the nostalgia of people who were actually around in the 70s and 80s, going to these gigs," she said.

"And then there's a whole different level of nostalgia from everyone who was out at live music gigs very recently."

The portraits from the collection are interspersed with works by specialist music photographers including Stu Spence and Bob King.

Among these is a series of works by legendary Canberra rock photographer 'pling (Kevin Prideaux), who documented Canberra as a regular music stop-off by some of the most famous musicians of the period.

He even captured The Ramones playing a gig at the Hellenic Club in 1980.

Suzie Higgie, lead singer of the legendary Canberra band the Falling Joys, was on hand to see her own face smiling out from the walls, in an official promo photo taken on La Perouse beach in 1992 by leading rock photographer Tony Mott.

"I do remember that day, because it was so cold in June that Pat [Hayes - bass player] borrowed Tony Mott's jumper - he would have just had a singlet on, being Pat," she said.

"I think it is quite indicative of our personalities, and you can see the rapport with Tony because he was a friend as well."

She said the show reminded her of the energy of the band's touring heyday.

"It was the camaraderie of, you know, getting in the Tarago and flaming down the Hume Highway to do the Prince of Wales in Melbourne," she said.

"You don't realise that at the time, that freedom, pre-kids ... we had a wonderful time writing in hotel rooms and we were a pretty nice band."

Ms Grist said the show also paid homage to the legacy of the Australian music scene for today's musicians.

"It celebrates the music of now - the legacy of these musicians and the incredible contribution to Australian life and culture and pop culture and protest is with us every day in current music," she said.

"It's got the relentless ear worms, as well as the energy of this era. It's the shot in the arm we need a bit of at the moment to keep us going."

Visitors - both in person and online - will also be able to access a selected playlist and series of music videos.