It feels like venues in New York are closing down all the
time. In the last year alone, Webster Hall and B.B. King Blues Club both shut
their doors and there are countless smaller venues that met much the same fate.
But for every venue that closes, another one opens, as we are also getting a
lot of fascinating new places to catch bands this year.
Last week, news of a new Rooftop Concert Series at South
Street Seaport’s Pier 17 was announced with a stunning line-up of artists
kicking things off. This is just the latest in a handful of newly announced and
opened venues popping up around the city, as well as Long Island.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look
at some of the new venues that have opened up in New York this year, as well as
ones that are slated to open soon. Here are nine set to become part of New York music history.
1.
The Rooftop at Pier 17: As stated above, a new
concert venue is coming to the South Street Seaport this summer. Housed in the
new building where the mall used to be, The Rooftop at Pier 17 is being booked
by LiveNation and will be able to hold 2,400 (seated) to 3,400 (standing)
patrons per show. Last week, Amy Schumer and Kings
of Leon were announced as the venue’s inaugural performers, playing August
1 and August 2 & 3, respectively. The rest of their line-up was announced yesterday,
which includes shows from Jon Batiste with The Dap-Kings (which is a free show
to launch the venue on July 28), Bebe Rexha (8/9), Trever Noah (8/12), Dashboard
Confessional and All Time Low (8/19), Michael McDonald (8/21), Hunter Hayes
(8/24), Gladys
Knight and The
O’Jays (8/25), Ziggy Marley (7/7), deadmau5 (7/8) and more. Tickets
for all of these shows go on sale Friday.
2.
Coney Island Baby: Originally Brownies then HiFi
Bar, Coney Island Baby is the new East Village venue from D Generation’s Jesse
Malin. The 200-capacity venue hosted its first shows earlier this month and has
a fantastic line-up of bands
coming up, including two sold-out shows from Green
Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s side project The Longshot (5/22 &
5/23) and The Waldos, which features Walter Lure from Johnny
Thunders’ Heartbreakers.
3.
Elsewhere: Opened this past November by former
Glasslands owner PopGun, Elsewhere is a multi-purpose arts and performance
space in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Its main hall holds about 675 patrons, while its
smaller Zone One room holds about 200. A third, rooftop room will be opening this
Memorial Day. The new spot holds 500 people and will serve as a space for art
installations and film screenings, as well as musical performances. A full
listing of summer rooftop
parties has already been announced.
4.
Sony Hall: Located in the heart of Times Square
in the iconic Paramount Hotel, Sony Hall opened in March with a free MGMT
show. The 500 (seated) to 1,000 (standing)-capacity venue is owned by Blue Note
Entertainment, who also own the Highline Ballroom and the former B.B. King
Blues Club (many of that venue’s previously booked shows will now be held at
Sony Hall) and uses Sony’s proprietary multi-dimensional audio technology in an
effort to “deliver enhanced entertainment experiences to fans.” The venue also
boasts an eclectic mix of artists and genres, a full slate of which can be
found here.
5.
Opry City Stage: A slice of Nashville in the
heart of New York City, Opry City Stage opened in December. The space has four
floors and two stages to bring local and up-and-coming country artists to the
big city. The second floor stage offers “a broad range of great country music
talent to accompany guests’ drinks and meals,” as well as live streams of Grand
Ole Opry performances, while the Studio at Opry Stage hosts staged events by
country “hit-makers, emerging artists and songwriters.” There is even a series
styled after the famed Bluebird Cafe, which spotlights new artists from around
the country. Check out their schedule here.
6.
The Stone: Less of a new venue and more of a
switch in location, The Stone was a jazz club in the East Village run by John
Zorn where one could witness curated line-ups that would produce opportunities
for once-in-a-lifetime performances. Zorn had to give up his space earlier this
year, but has moved it into The New School’s Glass Box Performance venue, which
will provide even more opportunities for even more amazing shows. Much of these
shows are jazz, though Sonic
Youth’s Thurston Moore will be holding a residency this December.
7.
The Shed: Not just a venue, The Shed is a
nonprofit arts space in Manhattan that will cater to all types of artists.
According to their mission, the space will be the “first multi-arts center
designed to commission, produce, and present all types of performing arts, visual
arts, and popular culture.” It continues, “From hip hop to classical music,
visual art to literature, film to theater and dance, with collaborations across
these disciplines and others, we will bring together leading artists from all
art forms under one roof.” The Shed won’t open until 2019, though there are a
handful of pre-opening projects
that will be going on right now.
8.
My Father’s Place: Originally open from 1971
until 1987, My Father’s Place was venue in Roslyn that hosted some of the era’s
biggest bands before they were big, especially in the reggae and punk spheres.
Now after 30 years, the venue has found a new home at the Roslyn Hotel.
Beginning this June, the venue will pick up where it left off with shows from Buster
Poindexter (6/29), Livingston
Taylor (6/30), Brand
X (7/6), Zebra
(7/20), The
Blasters (8/11), Howie
Day (8/16), Peter
Yarrow (12/9) and more.
9.
Stereo Garden: Stereo Garden opened in November
at the site of The Emporium, which closed down last May. Now a 1,000-capacity
venue with an updated audio, video and lighting system, as well as a restaurant
and beer garden, it will feature mostly rock and country acts. Some of the upcoming shows
include New Life Crisis (6/1), The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (7/27) and Neck
Deep (9/21).
Though it may be easy to dwell on the venues that have been
shutting their doors, there are still many new ones opening up to take their
place. Offering up an array of choices in terms of genre and size, these new venues
prove that live music in New York is and will continue to be as strong as ever through
the coming years.
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Find music from your favorite live artists and more at Vinyl
Bay 777. Long Island’s favorite new independent record shop has thousands of
titles to choose from in a wide range of genres. Browse our wide selection of
new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in
store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles
being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find
at Vinyl Bay 777.
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