Features
White Eagle Roosts In Jersey City
Stephen Olker – White Eagle Hall
Fans fill the recently renovated White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, N.J., May 5 for a free open house and concerts by Sunshine And The Rain and Rye Coalition to celebrate the reopening of the historic venue.
The venue reopened May 5 with a ribbon cutting ceremony, open house and a free concert from local heroes Rye Coalition and
The 800-capacity room (400 seated) now has a balcony level on each side of the stage, several bars and backstage amenities. The venue hasn’t been hosting live shows for about 40 years but has a historic background, having originally opened more than 100 years ago in 1910.
The resurrection of the theatre comes at a perspicuous time, Miller told Pollstar, as Jersey City is ready to come into its own as a market for live music.
“I think Jersey City has gotten to the point where it is the ‘West equivalent’ of Brooklyn and Williamsburg. It’s such a densely populated city with so many people that are in college or fresh out of college,” he said. “It’s where Williamsburg was a few years ago, this is the first real, full-fledged, sizable venue there.”
For Miller, the timing couldn’t be better, as Webster is scheduled to undergo renovations in the fall, meaning he and his team will have more time to dedicate to the establishment of White Eagle.
Upcoming construction on the L Train also means that transportation between Manhattan and Brooklyn will be disrupted for more than a year, which Miller thinks will contribute to making Jersey City a destination for bands playing the NYC area.
“There’s already a ton of musicians, a ton of music-related entities [in Jersey City],” Miller said. “It’s a really exciting area.”
Already promising “A-level stuff” for the new, old venue, Miller said he hopes the Hall will be able to serve the needs of Jersey City’s Filipino, Southeast Asian and Indian populations.
“One goal, starting in the fall, is to try to get to 150 shows. If I can have 60 of those shows be things that aren’t on the normal touring scale, that aren’t the traditional pop and contemporary rock acts, that makes my job a lot easier.”