DC’s U Street Music Hall Closes Up Shop

After 10 years in operation U Street Music Hall in Washington, D.C., is calling it quits.

Management made the announcement today (Oct. 5) on social media, saying donations and public support helped greatly but it simply was not enough. 

“Due to the pandemic, mounting operational costs that never paused even while we were closed, and no clear timeline for when clubs like ours can safely reopen, we had no choice recently but to make this heartbreaking decision,” U Street Music Hall wrote. “It’s hard to take a step back at a moment like this and it hurts to say goodbye to our basement home on 1115 U Street, but the memories we created there will stay with us forever. We hope they will with you, too. 

“We could not be more grateful to our incredible staff and partners—in particular, our friends at I.M.P.—both present and past. From the front-door and bar staff to those working behind the scenes, they were the backbone of this club and kept it running safely and seamlessly each night. So many of us work in this industry because we truly love our jobs. This is our calling. From rave to punk, we all come from various music scenes and communities. Many of us on staff formed lasting friendships with our coworkers that we’ll always cherish.”

The last reported show at U Street Music Hall was Moon Hooch with Paris Monster on Feb. 22. That reported 511 tickets sold (100% capacity) with a gross of $10,220. Other artists to have performed U Street in the past several years include Poppy, Maxo Kream, Weyes Blood, Cuco, Rex Orange County and Hobo Johnson.

“This one hurts so bad,” MAC Agency’s Andrew Lieber wrote on social media. “[This was] D.C.’s go-to 500-cap spot.” 

U.S. venues like Slim’s in San Francisco have been closing throughout the past six months – as federal aid has dried up and regulations in most parts of the U.S. prevent them from conducting in-person business – but many fear the industry is on the precipice of mass-closure if legislation modeled after the RESTART Act and the Save Our Stages Act is not soon adopted by Congress. 

Democrats introduced an updated version of the HEROES Act federal relief package to the House Of Representatives last week, which included language from the Save Our Stages Act but omitted language from the RESTART act. 

The U.S. live industry went on Red Alert last month with more than 1,500 live venues and businesses illuminating their buildings in red to signify the desperate need for federal aid.