The End of an Era at Webster Hall
photo by Amanda Hatfield

Webster Hall is back! Patti Smith, Sharon Van Etten, BSS, MGMT, Built to Spill, more on initial schedule

NYC venue Webster Hall — which closed in August 2017 for renovations under new owners BSE Global and The Bowery Presents, AEG Presents’ regional partner — said it would be reopening in spring 2019, and now the initial lineup of shows is here.

The venue reopens in late April with a TBA opening night event, and the first currently announced show is on May 1 with Patti Smith and Her Band. Other upcoming shows include Sharon Van Etten and Heather Woods Broderick on May 4, Royal Trux on May 15, Broken Social Scene on May 16 & 17, Chromeo with a live band on May 20, MGMT on May 22, 23 & 24, Empire of the Sun on June 6 & 7, Real Estate on June 14, Tinariwen on September 21, Pinegrove on September 27, Built to Spill on September 30 & October 1, Big Thief on October 10 & 11, and more. Full schedule below.

Tickets for most shows go on sale Friday, March 1 at noon with an AmEx presale starting Monday, February 25 at 10 AM, except the Empire of the Sun shows which go on sale Friday, February 22 at 10 AM with an AmEx presale starting today (2/21) at 10 AM.

According to a new New York Times feature on the venue’s reopening, there are some new features like an elevator to help with handicapped patrons and loading equipment, new bathrooms, and new front doors, but much of the venue is reportedly untouched. Here’s more:

Three doors were added to its entrance on East 11th Street — a concession by the Landmarks Preservation Commission — to get people in and out more quickly. On the first floor, the Marlin Room, a former venue-within-a-venue, has been turned into a sleek lounge.

Upstairs in the ballroom, acoustic treatments have been added to the walls and ceiling, and some remnants of the dance-party past have been removed, like a monstrous lighting rig that John Moore, one of the Bowery Presents principals, likened to Battlestar Galactica.

“It would come down, it would move around; it was very ’80s,” Mr. Moore said, adding that it would be replaced with a more conventional mirror ball.

But much of the idiosyncratic grandeur of the room was untouched, like its scalloped balconies, Art Deco wall designs and, above the stage, an old canvas painting of falling balloons. “The vision has always been to maintain the soul, the grit, the history of the venue,” said Brett Yormark, the chief executive of BSE Global. “For fans, they are going to feel like they’re coming home again.”

You can read more here.

A press release notes more changes, including that the Marlin Room is now The Lounge, which “has been revamped to serve as a bar and meeting spot for ticketholders both before and after shows in the Grand Ballroom.” The venue’s basement, which used to be The Studio at Webster Hall, “will also return, with more details to be announced at a later date.”

Webster Hall also now has additional staircases, central air conditioning, and enhanced acoustics. The Girls & Boys club nights are also scheduled to return in September.

Webster Hall — 2019 Initial Reopening Schedule
5/1 Patti Smith and Her Band
5/3 Troyboi
5/4 Sharon Van Etten, Heather Woods Broderick
5/7 FKJ
5/10 Lawrence
5/15 Royal Trux
5/16 Broken Social Scene
5/17 Broken Social Scene
5/19 Old Dominion
5/20 Chromeo with a live band
5/21 Johnnyswim
5/22 MGMT
5/23 MGMT
5/24 MGMT
5/28 The Japanese House
5/29 Aaron Tveit
6/6 Empire of the Sun
6/7 Empire of the Sun
6/14 Real Estate
6/15 City of the Sun
7/26 Emo Nite LA presents Emo Nite at Webster Hall
9/13 HVOB
9/21 Tinariwen
9/27 Pinegrove
9/30 Built to Spill
10/1 Built to Spill
10/5 Mt. Joy
10/9 Chris Robinson Brotherhood
10/10 Big Thief
10/11 Big Thief
11/2 Mumiy Troll