Zelisko’s Phoenix Rising

Danny Zelisko’s kicking up dust in Phoenix with a new booking deal at a new venue, Foundry on First. The 1,500-capacity club opens up for a two-day grand opening with Cowboy Mouth July 9-10.

The longtime Phoenix promoter, who left Live Nation and started Danny Zelisko Presents in February, has a long-term booking agreement with the private developers that own the 18,000-square-foot building. He’s emphatic that it will fill a niche that’s been lacking in Phoenix – a mid-size nightclub.

Already on the books are artists as diverse as Blondie, the Love Me Nots, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Buddy Guy, Cody Canada & The Departed, Queensrÿche, Black Label Society and Blue October.

At present, Zelisko is shooting for one to two shows per week, but hoping to fill in the schedule quickly with plenty of offers pending.

“The closest thing to it, capacity-wise, is the Orpheum Theatre. That’s a different type of show. It’s a sit-down, art-house, deco kind of room,” Zelisko told Pollstar. “You could see Black Label Society and the Tubes, to Cody Canada to Buddy Guy. Country’s going to be fine there.

“I’m really hoping the agents, managers and artists can say there’s a great place to go when they play Phoenix,” he continued. “There hasn’t been anything new here for years, and for audience purposes the main thing is they don’t want to see the same thing in the same place year after year. Not at all. This is really going to offer a nice, new change for people when they come to Phoenix.”

Most of the shows will be general admission and without fixed seating though some cabaret-type shows with tables and chairs could be in the Foundry’s future. There will be elevated VIP booths with clear sight lines and a bar.

Located across the street from pal Alice Cooper’s restaurant, Alice Cooper’stown, and within an easy walk from other restaurants, a comedy club, Chase Field stadium, U.S. Airlines Arena and other new amenities, Zelisko sees the Foundry as an important piece of downtown Phoenix’s rise as a live entertainment hub.

“It’s turning into what it was always supposed to be. Bustling, and having all these really cool places you can go to on any given night,” Zelisko said. “It’s weird to say after all these years, but it’s the beginning of something that’s going to take hold and become more and more popular.”