After teetering between Valley venues for years, Stateside Presents announced this morning that it finally has a spot to call its own.
Downtown's Crescent Ballroom, as we speculated earlier this month, will open sometime in October, says Charlie Levy, owner of the local promotion company. And, yeah, we totally nailed the location, which will be at 308 North Second Avenue in the heart of downtown Phoenix -- not at an outlying Sheraton Hotel, as some websites have listed.
"[Opening a venue is] something I've always wanted to do, but it had to be the right situation," Levy says.
Stateside purchased the historic building, erected in 1917, just a few months ago. Renovations to renew its old-timey charm are currently under way as crews strip the paint and old sheetrock that cover Levy's vision of an authentically Phoenix venue.
As we reported before, Crescent will host The Album Leaf, St. Vincent, CSS, Gang Gang Dance and more in October. Levy says he's most excited about a lineup of shows that is yet to be announced.
Larger than Rhythm Room and smaller than Marquee Theatre, Crescent Ballroom seems to fill a gap in the Valley music scene. Bands that quickly sell out Rhythm Room, as Black Lips did in June, might find Crescent Ballroom a better fit, expanding ticket sales while maintaining an intimate vibe.
Though right now the venue's lineup seems indie-centric, Levy is looking to expand.
"I'm going to look at every kind of music that's good music," he says, adding that he'd like to see blues, country western, and other genres mixed into the schedule. "Once we're open and get more established, I think we'll be able to attract more musicians."
Along with the venue, Crescent Ballroom will also house a lounge with food, drinks, no cover, and a small stage where acoustic bands, DJs, and other artists can play on a nightly basis, open at 4 p.m. everyday.
"I'm pretty excited about the whole thing," Levy says. "The bottom line is we're just going to try hard, give it 110 percent. We want a place where people want to see bands and are comfortable, and where bands want to play. Hopefully with a little hard work and luck we'll succeed."
