December 11, 2006
Local Venues Getting National Recognition
For all the gentle bitching and tempered moaning we do about certain aspects of our local music venues, on the whole, they're nothing to sneeze at. Sometimes amidst endless debates about sound quality and beer prices, we forget that we're rather lucky to have so many high quality venues in the area. Luckily, the fine folks at Pollstar haven't forgotten. Wolf Trap's Filene Center, Merriweather Post Pavillion, The Birchmere and the 9:30 Club have all been nominated for the 2007 Concert Industry Awards.
The awards don't just recognize venues; they range from honoring touring acts to promoters, from agents to festivals, nationally and internationally. Our local honors were in the following categories:
NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR: The 9:30 Club is nominated amongst other venues such as New York's Bowery Ballroom, Chicago's House of Blues and Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom.
RED ROCKS AWARD / BEST SMALL OUTDOOR VENUE: Wolf Trap's Filene Center was nominated along with Atlanta's Chastain Park Amitheatre, Santa Barbara's Santa Barbara Bowl and others.
BEST MAJOR OUTDOOR CONCERT VENUE: Merriweather Post Pavilion got the nod along with L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl, New York's Nikon at Jones Beach and others.
NIGHTCLUB TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR: The Birchmere's Michael Jaworek was recognized along with buyers from Webster Hall in New York and the House of Blues in Chicago, amongst others.
A big congrats to the people and places that make the D.C. area stand out on the national music scene. Is there anybody that wasn't mentioned you think deserves a nod?
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Also note that Seth Hurwitz of IMP (owner of the 930 Club) is nominated for Independant Promoter of the Year.
What's up with the Birchmere moving to Silver Spring? Is it true? If so, I'm pretty psyched to have it near a metro. I'll see a lot more shows at the new location.
Is the 9:30 based on Bowery Ballroom, or vice versa? They're so similar in design. But I guess a lot of clubs that size are.
The Birchmere isn't moving, but they are building a second location in Silver Spring.
What's up with the Birchmere moving to Silver Spring? Is it true?
Well, they're not moving, really. But they are opening a sister venue.
It really doesn't fit in any of the categories, but the new Strathmore is pretty sweet. One of the best venues to see a live show in DC.
I know those Oregonian hipsters were bigging up the DC9 recently...
The [i]Red Rocks Award[/i]. That's funny. I guess they figured Red Rocks would win every year, so they just named the category after it and then said "who's second best?"
Indeed - The Red Rocks Award was named for those exact reasons. It won for 12 years in a row. See: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2000/12/04/daily16.html
How does Merriweather earn a nomination for best major outdoor concert venue? That place is a dump (horrible sound, insufficient facilities), and unless whoever owns it is planning on making some major improvements, they might as well proceed with turning it into a parking lot. Merriweather was once a great outdoor venue, but time has passed it by. Wolf Trap, although considerably smaller, is much, much better in every way.
Why has the Velvet Lounge not been listed?????
I love my city and all, but the 930 is a dump compared to the Bowery.