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The Marshall Tucker Band To Re-Open Atlanta Venue
Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse shut down over the summer to undergo much-needed alterations. The longtime venue celebrates its reopening next week and has tapped The Marshall Tucker Band to headline the evening.
Photo: Mary Andrews / ConcertLivewire.com
Rialto Theatre, Tucson, Ariz.
Buckethead was the last artist to grace the Variety Playhouse stage before it temporarily closed in May. Although the re-opened venue has presented Ricky Skaggs, Henry Rollins,
What’s different about the Variety Playhouse? Before the venue went into remodeling mode, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported several modifications were planned, including expanding both bars, turning an unused side bar into a merch area and adding improvements to backstage dressing rooms. The rehab also included updating the lighting truss to better accommodate acts requiring “hefty lighting.”
Other changes included replacing approximately 300 downstairs permanent seats with “movie-theater-style chairs” and lowering the flooring near the stage that is often used as “standing room” or a “dance floor” by about 18 inches so folks sitting in the theatre’s middle will have unobstructed views of the stage.
“We are extremely excited and honored that The Marshall Tucker Band has agreed to join in on our celebration of a new era for the Variety Playhouse,” the venue’s Scott Orvold said. “We spent well over a year preparing and renovating our building. We are confident that the Variety Playhouse will be considered one of the best venues in the country and will continue to carry the legacy that Steve Harris and his staff began.”
You can bet Marshall Tucker band lead singer / co-founder Doug Gray is excited about his band’s upcoming gig at the remodeled venue.
“Georgia helped premiere The Marshall Tucker Band back when we started this life journey 45 years ago,” Gray said. “Atlanta was like a second home to us so it means a lot to return to a place with so much Marshall Tucker history. The Variety Playhouse also has a lot of history, as we have performed there over the years. We’re so happy to help celebrate its reopening.”
Tickets for the grand re-opening are on sale now. Go to the Variety Playhouse’s website for more information.
MTB’s Doug Gray has spoken with Pollstar a couple of times in recent years. You can revisit his 2016 interview here and follow this link for his 2014 Q&A.