WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — Indie concert promoter and production company I.M.P. announced that they have enlisted the Foo Fighters to serve as the inaugural headliner for the opening of their brand new venue The Anthem.
“There was never any question about who would open. There was no Plan B," said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., co-owner of the 9:30 Club and The Anthem, and operator of the Lincoln Theatre and Merriweather Post Pavilion. “It was always just the Foos. I texted Dave some photos of the venue after we started building it and asked him ‘Who else should open it?’ He said ‘Nobody.’ That was the end of it.”
A couple of months ago, Hurwitz walked Grohl through The Anthem while in the midst of construction. “There was one thing that really stuck with me that Dave said when I gave him the tour,” said Hurwitz. “He stood where the stage is and looked all around and said, ‘It’s like an arena — but it’s like the 9:30.’ That was exactly what I wanted to hear."
The Anthem, located on The Wharf in D.C.’s Southwest Waterfront, is slated to open its doors to the public for the first time on Oct. 12th and I.M.P. hopes that it will fill what they see as the void in the market for a mid-sized music-focused concert facility.
The Anthem will seek to fit into this niche with a flexible capacity of anywhere from 2,500 to a maximum of 6,000, with many seated and general admission configurations and a moveable stage and backdrop that will help the venue to easily fit itself to the requirements of a show.
Additional artists booked for the new venue will be announced in the coming moneths, I.M.P. said. – Staff Writers
