The local club scene has taken its share of lumps with the closing of several venues in recent years. But one defunct Sixth Avenue hot spot may soon be reborn as The Town.
The Backstage opened in 2011. Popular competitor Hell's Kitchen closed a few months later, after a decade as ground zero for Tacoma's hard-rock scene; and many had high hopes that the Backstage might fill the void, given its spacious showroom, booming sound system and penchant for booking heavier acts.
The venue soon floundered, though, before abruptly going dark in 2013. Owner Jeff Lacher blamed $20,000 in kitchen upgrades he said he would have had to make following inspections by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Now, though, three local entrepreneurs hope to have a much longer run in that space, which is located at 6409 Sixth Ave., in Tacoma. Promoters Herschel Veal, Jr., David Regenfuss and Fred “Freddie Fingerz” Darden took over the lease last fall with plans of opening a more eclectic live music venue, called The Town.
“Basically, it's three young guys who love music and have been in and around the Seattle and Tacoma scene for a while,” said Candice Richardson of Brave New World Media, the local firm hired to promote the new club.
“They're all from Tacoma, started to produce shows of their own last year and had some pretty wildly successful, sold-out events,” Richardson said, alluding to shows at South Tacoma's Cultura Event Center that were headlined by Grammy Award-winning R&B singer-songwriter Eric Bellinger and popular West Coast rapper Problem.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board had issued a temporary license allowing The Town to open this weekend, and a grand opening show was scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24, featuring DJ Drama, an artist best known for his work with rapper T.I. and his popular “Gangsta Grillz” mixtape series. However, Richardson said the event had to be postponed due to delays in renovation.
She said the owners' long-term vision for The Town would focus on an eclectic mix of live bands; and with an expanded capacity she estimated at around 500, the room could draw mid-level, national touring acts that routinely skip Tacoma in favor of performing in Seattle and Olympia.
“They know so many great acts that are doing really cool stuff in the industry, both regionally and nationally, that they want to bring to the city of Tacoma,” Richardson said. “Soul and pop and blues and jazz, all of that's going to be featured; but they're kicking it off with an urban music night since they had such great success with their last two events.”
Updates on The Town, including refund details for this weekend's show, will be available through the club's web site, http://www.thetownent.com.