PHILADELPHIA, PA (CelebrityAccess) — A former smelting and refining facility in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia will become the home of two new Live Nation-operated music venues, including a new Fillmore outlet.
According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, the new venues will include a two-level, 2,500-person-capacity concert hall called the Fillmore and the separate 450-capacity nightclub called Foundry. The building will also include bars and a restaurant and will be "the most beautiful in our entire [Fillmore] chain," project champion Ron Bension, HoB's CEO told the Inquirer.
The new Fillmore will include movable curtain walls, adjustable lighting, with a scalable capacity that can accommodate smaller shows with 700 to 1,000 patrons (mostly standing), or accommodate 1,200 for an "all-seated show" or up to 2,200 for private events.
The Foundry will serve as a feeder club for developing artists.
"I wanted to have a development club and a larger, flexible, state-of-the-art concert venue for major artists, both under the same roof," Live Nation's Geoff Gordon told the Inquirer. "The hope is, people who come to see a big act will linger and check out the singer-songwriter or indie rock group playing a late set in the smaller room."
The new clubs will enter an already crowded market, with competitors such as the Electric Factory, The Keswick Theater, The Trocadero and World Cafe Live already established in the market.
"It's crazy," local concert booker Jesse Lundy of Point Entertainment told the Inquirer. "This town is out of control, over-clubbed. It's become a seller's market. We're fighting, competing over everything, even acts worth $5. Talent agents are looking at us and licking their lips like we're a big lamb chop." – Staff Writers
