Savannah Stopover 2018 - Saturday
photo by Stephanie Augello

Savannah, GA venue The Jinx is closing, but looking for a new location

90% of music venues will be forced to shut down without aid, due to the extended periods of closure they’ve weathered during COVID-19. Allston MA’s Great Scott sadly won’t be reopening, and now we’ve heard about another venue that’s being forced to close its doors. Savannah, GA’s The Jinx, recently announced that after “almost 17 years of amazing shows, unrivaled spectacles, and some of the most special moments in life,” they are being evicted from their current location at 127 W Congress St.

Originally called the Velvet Elvis when it opened in 1993, and later Velvet Lounge, the space closed in 2003, and later that year reopened as The Jinx. As Do Savannah points out, a wide variety of bands including Coheed and Cambria, HR from Bad Brains, Torche, Mastodon, Murder By Death, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, Goatwhore, Jeff The Brotherhood, Shovels and Rope, The Mountain Goats, Billy Joe Shaver, Lucero, Protomatyr, and many more have taken to their stage over the years.

Despite being unable to keep their current location, “this is NOT the end,” they say. They are looking to find a new home to continue their legacy and share live music with the Savannah community. “Who knows, maybe we end up here again in our old home one day, stranger things have happened, if 2020 has proven anything, it’s that,” they wrote.

As of right now, the venue’s last official day being open to the public is July 11th, and they invite anyone and everyone to come by and say farewell to the space. “We love you Jinxies, it’s an end of an era but it’s also the beginning of a new one,” they write. “Everything is going to be ok, let’s all be kind to each other and please, wash your dang hands.” Read their letter in full, and see some tributes to the space from bands, below.

The Jinx’s Facebook:

It’s with a very heavy and dark heart that we bring you this news today, we are all in just as much shock as you will be, but, we ARE all in this together so here goes.

After almost 17 years of amazing shows, unrivaled spectacles, and some of the most special moments in life, Covid 19 has left us unable to pay rent and, subsequently we are being evicted. Sounds scary right ? It is. Yet, we need all of you, our beloved regulars, supporters, artists, musicians and free spirits to know one thing, this is NOT the end of the jinx. It’s just the end of the jinx in this particular building. We will absolutely persevere !

We are all totally devastated but, we have come to terms with it as much as we can and so much look forward to the future and building our new home to share with all of you ! We had a great run in this space, and couldn’t be more proud of it. When one door closes, another opens. And maybe we can even find a place that we love more, the world is full of possibilities.

Our plan is to find a smaller home for now while the world rights itself, this unexpected and unprecedented time WILL pass, and we will reinvent ourselves and find a new home for us sooner, rather that later. This was eventually inevitable as our lease was to run out 12-31-2020 and we have been actively looking for a new spot for over a year, as some of you may know. However nothing we looked at really felt right, which is testament to how special this room is to all of us. Not just this room since 2003 when The Jinx opened, but all of the amazing years it was Velvet Elvis as well.

We all owe it to each and every memory we have made here, and all of the amazing friends we have lost over these years, to keep all of those memories alive. We are not leaving them behind in this building, they’re coming with us to our new home, and in our hearts always.

There’s no amount of money that could remedy this situation, we know many of you will want to donate in an effort to save us, but it’s just not even possible by no fault of our own. We do ask that you give us time to regroup and deal with this, and once we’ve found a new home, we ABSOLUTELY need you very much to help spread the word and fundraise for that !

Who knows, maybe we end up here again in our old home one day, stranger things have happened, if 2020 has proven anything, it’s that.

We cannot ever express enough gratitude to all of you, and again, we aren’t going anywhere. I mean yes we are moving but, we are not dying. Just think of it as us going away on tour for a bit, we will be back ! Our hearts are broken with you so let’s all lean on each other while we evolve.

We have very limited hours right now while we navigate Covid to keep everyone safe, we are all getting tested and will announce our new hours asap. It’s very important to us that everyone to have time to say goodbye to this very most special of venues so please come by sometime before July 11th as that will be our last day open to the public. We have a couple of shows we are planning and as soon as we can lock it down, we will give you advance notice of them and when tickets will go on sale.

I for one ,(Susanne) am so amazed by what we have all built, all of the ups and downs we have been through, and how strong we have always been due in part to the amazing community we have built. The Jinx is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life and I’m honored that it’s touched so many people’s lives. 17 years went by in about 17 minutes it seems, but it remains to be one of the very most important things in my entire life and I want to thank you for allowing me to have these experiences with you all. Sometimes change can be good, and we have plenty more memories to make and bands to witness. I also want to give MAJOR thanks to all of my present and previous staff members for going above and beyond and giving us all, a real sense of family here at 127 W Congress Street.

We love you Jinxies, it’s an end of an era but it’s also the beginning of a new one. Everything is going to be ok, let’s all be kind to each other and please, wash your dang hands.

In the mean time, it would mean so much to us for you to help us list each and every band that has ever performed here during Jinx years, we would love to commemorate that but 17 years is a lot to keep up with and we really need your help ! We will start a separate thread for that or feel free to email us at [email protected]

xoxo-the entire jinx staff

View this post on Instagram

“Well Savannah almost killed me…” Super bummed to hear that after seventeen years, @thejinx912 is closing down shop on West Congress down in Savannah,GA. The Jinx is/was/will always be one of my favorite bars in the country. Its one of the only venues that would book an unheard of Raleigh band back in 2006. It’s the stage that me and the boys cut our teeth on back in the early days. It’s the bar where Rae and I met for our first date. I spent almost every birthday of my mid twenties “celebrating” with a show at The Jinx. I consider the staff family and always will. Word is that they will be opening back up somewhere else later down the road and I truly hope that is true. The world needs more bars like The Jinx. Bands need venues like The Jinx. The world needs more folks like Susanne, Tony, Scott, Gil and Mikey. This was our home in Savannah and it’s a bummer to see this chapter close, but I’m excited to see what that motley crew comes up with next. :@flowplowed

A post shared by BJ Barham (@americanaquarium) on

View this post on Instagram

Jinx memories day three: the very first night we hit the jinx after moving down in 2007 was a Tuesday night. “It’s hip hop night every Tuesday y’all!” For fifteen years Steven @thebasiklee would shout that into the mic. We were new to town and still learning what to do when a guy Jeremiah worked with at the deli invited him out to his hip hop open mic at the jinx. I wanted a rapper for this track we were working on so figured we’d go check him out. We didn’t miss a Tuesday for the next couple years. I’d compete in all of Steven’s producer battles and I won a couple times. Eventually we (as Howler) were the very first live band he would have as the house band for the night. That was a lot of fun and really far out of our comfort zone. Of course Steven and I shot off and made our own musical project, Ambrose, around 2010 or 2011 I think. A project we are still creating with now. Steven and I would go on to throw some of the best events of our lives in that room. From Ambrose sets, to the infamous prince tributes, all the way to that wild OutKast tribute we somehow pulled off. #repentorburn #jinx4ever #vivalajinx #hiphopnighteverytuesdayyall #youcannevergohomeagain

A post shared by SinsOf GodlessMen (@sinsofgodlessmen) on

Categories: