Spring is finally is on its way once again. As winter’s frigid chill begins to recede and the city’s Covid restrictions begin to loosen, life is finally starting to return to a semblance of normality. Pretty soon, we’ll also all be able to enjoy a brand new music venue opening up in Chelsea.
The Bowery Presents is one of the most significant New York City-based independent concert promoters. The East Coast regional partner of AEG Live, Bowery Presents was founded in 1994 by Michael Swier and John Moore. Over the past two decades, Bowery Presents has operated some of the most important venues in New York, including The Mercury Lounge, Bowery Ballroom, Webster Hall, Terminal 5, Brooklyn Steel, and the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Though both Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury Lounge have since left the Bowery Presents family, the company was still very influential in their development.
Now, it appears that the ambitious company is set to acquire a brand new venue – the former Highline Ballroom. Located above the Meatpacking District at 431 West 16th Street, the venue closed down in 2019 after hosting their final show – a now-famous performance from The Roots. While there have been multiple attempts to revive the space over the past three years, the outbreak of the pandemic quickly halted those attempts and the space has remained vacant ever since.
Now though, the team at Bowery Presents have since acquired the lease for the space and are planning on opening up a brand new entertainment venue. The venue, which has still yet to be named, will occupy the full three floors that previously belonged to the Highline Ballroom and has a total capacity of 660 guests. While shows are expected to run on average from 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM, Bowery Presents is proposing operating hours of 7:00 AM – 4:00 AM in order to accommodate special events and certain setups and breakdowns.
For the food and beverage program, Bowery Presents has brought on Spectrum Catering and Concessions. As concessionaire to some of the largest and most prestigious outdoor music events in the country, Spectrum has worked with AEG and Bowery Presents multiple times before and has always maintained a fruitful partnership. For the menu, Spectrum will be providing a robust selection of vodka, rum, tequila, and all your other favorite liquors alongside plenty of bottled and draft beer as well as light snacks like pretzels, ham and cheese pockets, and mozzarella sticks. While the project is still very early into development, you can go to the Bowery Presents website to get inside information on all their latest events and shows.
