On May 30, Foo Fighters will open a new venue in Washington, D.C., called The Atlantis. The 450-person room is set to pay homage to the 9:30 Club, opening next door to the venue on Club on F Street, Northwest, directly behind 815 V Street, Northwest, which is where the 9:30 Club has sat since ’96.
Foo Fighter’s appearance on May 30 will mark 43 years minus one day since the original 9:30 Club opened and will mark a run of 44 concerts–each $44–to celebrate the 44 years since the 9:30 Club opened – the name of the new venue comes from the original name of the 9:30 Club which was also called The Atlantis when it opened in the late ’70s.
Notably, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl announced the new club during a surprise show that marked the venue’s first in 17 months due to the pandemic at the 9:30 Club back in September 2021. During the set, Grohl said, the venue owners would be “opening an exact replica of the old 9:30 Club” right next door. He prophetically added, “We’ll probably be the band that opens it, right? Is that what’s going to happen?”
The 44 performances upcoming at the room–which will pay tribute to the original venue with the old venue’s front desk and a pole that famously obstructed the view of concertgoers–include Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Pixies, Tank and the Bangas, Yo La Tengo, Sylvan Esso, Jeff Tweedy, Barenaked Ladies, The Head and the Heart, Portugal. The Man, Living Colour, Iron & Wine, Shakey Graves, George Clinton, Thievery Corporation, Joan Jett, Gary Clark Jr., Ben Gibbard, Tove Lo, Billy Idol, Matt and Kim and more. The run of shows will be closed out by none other than Maggie Rogers, who will perform on Sept. 29.
The venue’s motto is “Where music begins,” and venue owner Seth Hurtiz spoke to The Washington Post about the new endeavor. Hurtiz noted that his company concert promotion company I.M.P. used to host a 9:30 Club presents show at U Street Music Hall–which closed following COVID-19–to serve as a proving ground for new artists. Through the stages of the 9:30 Club (1,200 capacity), The Anthem (2,500-6,000 capacity) and the Merriweather Post Pavillion (18,000 capacity) welcome some of the best acts, they were lacking a place for new acts to prove themselves.
“We have everything but a small club. We need our own because we need ours to stand out,” Hurtiz said. “I wanted to have the best small club like I wanted to have the best midsize venue, and the best amphitheater, and so on and so forth.”
He also spoke on the infamous pole: “There will be a pole which everyone fought me on, but since it’s one of the big questions everyone asks, I’m like, ‘Well, there you go. That’s why we’re putting the pole there.’”
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