Rising Sun Presents Acquires Indie Baltimore Venue The 8×10 

Rising Sun Presents is assuming ownership and management of the 300-capacity, independent Baltimore venue The 8×10. The venue will close for the summer while improvements are ongoing with plans for grand reopening in October. 

Based in Philadelphia, Rising Sun Presents provides booking, marketing, production, ticketing, and operational management services in a range of venue spaces including clubs, theaters, outdoor concert series, festivals and more. The company was founded in 2022 by the team behind the 600-capacity Ardmore Music Hall, an independent venue in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Last year, Rising Sun Presents produced 1,700 live music events across 25 stages.

The 8×10 is located in the historic Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore and since it started hosting musical performances in 1983, the venue has hosted Billy Joel, Phish, Chuck Berry, Dave Matthews Band, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Cliff, Bo Diddley, Widespread Panic and Robert Cray, among others. 

An announcement explains that Rising Sun Presents will partner “with Baltimore native and acclaimed musician Cris Jacobs and longtime building owner Dave Rather to further the mission that current owners Abigail Janssens and Brian Shupe have championed during their 21-year tenure at the venue.” 

RSP Managing Partner Chris Perella has strong ties to Baltimore with family in the area and a lifelong love of the Orioles. 

“We’ll focus on continuing the legacy that Abigail and Brian have fostered for the last two-plus decades, while adding the fine details and fan-focused touches that have become signature features of the RSP live music experience,” Perella says. 

Improvements to The 8×10 include team building, national tour bookings, signage, a membership program, and food & beverage updates. The new team at the venue will include Jeremy Rusen serving as general manager. The announcement adds that Rusen, who is a regular at the venue and a local trades craftsman, will spend the summer leading venue improvement projects before taking on the role of GM. 

“We believed the universe would deliver The 8×10 the right owners if we waited long enough, and it obviously did,” longtime owner Shupe said in a statement. “We trust that RSP will be loyal stewards and protect The 8×10 long into the future. We can’t wait to be at the club, this time in the audience!”