Features
New Way For Skyway
A downtown Minneapolis former movie theater is getting a second lease on life as a music venue.
The Skyway Theatre, which housed everything from a cineplex to a strip club and nightclubs in recent years, has been reborn as a 250- to 2,500-capacity venue after seats were removed and spaces reconstructed within the building.
Given the theater’s cinematic past, the interior offers high-quality acoustics and unobstructed sight lines, according to the venue website, extensive sound and lighting equipment, 50-foot ceilings and a 30- by 20-foot projection screen.
Photo: Scott Legato / RockStarProPhotography.com
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fairgrounds Racecourse, New Orleans, La.
“It’s a unique layout that works well for certain acts looking for a general-admission venue bigger than the average club,” booker Josh Lacey told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, adding that the electronic dance community helped bring Skyway back to life.
A 2011 Skrillex show put the venue on Live Nation’s radar, and the company has since promoted EDM events there.
And if a cut-down theatre isn’t suited for a particular show, Skyway shares the space with the adjoining 500-capacity Bar Fly and 800-capacity Loft.
“We’re starting to be known as a legit music venue,” theater owner Crissy Kabanuk told the Tribune.
Upcoming shows on the books include Janelle Monáe, Matt Nathanson, and Third Eye Blind.