Features
Wetlands To Close
Long viewed as a home for jam bands including Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Blues Traveler, The Disco Biscuits, and Widespread Panic, the TriBeCa club also hosted hip-hop, reggae, and drum and bass acts.
Last year, The Roots held a month-long residency at the Wetlands that morphed into their heralded weekly BlackLily party. The event featured an open mic for female talent. Among the artists who performed were Jill Scott, Macy Gray, and Erykah Badu.
In addition to showcasing music from all genres, the club was the home of Deadcenter – at 10 years, the longest running and largest weekly gathering of Grateful Dead fans in the country.
Founder Larry Bloch opened Wetlands as a meeting place for neighborhood activists and a center for environmental activity. The revenue generated from the club funded the Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve, which supports part-time employees as well as volunteers and interns who earn school credit for their work at the center.
Through letter-writing campaigns and petition drives, the center aims to raise awareness of environmental and social injustice issues.
Although the existing club will be turning out the lights, the management team plans on using the Wetlands name to promote shows and is looking for a new space in Manhattan to call home.