11-28-2011, 10:41 PM
Southgate House closing
Renowned Newport music venue hosted wide variety of acts
The Southgate House in Newport will shut its doors after New Year’s Eve, its owners announced Monday.
Written by
Lauren Bishop
NEWPORT - The Southgate House, the historic Newport mansion-turned-music club that has been hailed as one of the best concert venues in the country, will shut its doors after New Year’s Eve, its owners announced Monday.
“While we are deeply saddened to close ... it’s been a great run and it’s been a great privilege to be the steward of such a grand building all these years,” owner Ross Raleigh said in a statement. “There have been many great memories made here, but the history is in the people and the music, not just the building, and the show must go on.”
Raleigh said in the statement that he hopes to relocate his business in 2012 and that he would release more information about that soon. The statement did not give a reason for the closing, and efforts to reach Raleigh Monday were unsuccessful.
Owned by Raleigh since 1976, the Southgate House is known for its diverse array of acts, encompassing alternative rock, punk, metal, country, blues, bluegrass and folk. Its three performance spaces – Juney’s Lounge in the first floor bar area, the library-like Parlour on the second floor and a 600-capacity ballroom with its horseshoe-shaped balcony and signature red curtain in the back of the house – have hosted up-and-coming as well as established local and national acts.
Grammy Award-winning bands such as Arcade Fire, the Black Keys and the White Stripes played there before they became household names, and it was a favorite venue of many touring acts, including legendary Dayton rockers Guided by Voices.
Bluegrass greats Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin and Del McCoury have also graced the Southgate House stage, as have folk heroes Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.
The Southgate House’s eclectic entertainment schedule and unique space has attracted national attention. Independent music magazine Paste called the Southgate House one of America’s 40 best music clubs in its May 2007 issue, and Esquire magazine ranked Cincinnati seventh on its list of 10 “Cities that Rock” in its April 2004 issue, citing Southgate one of the region’s top venues.
The building itself, located on Third Street across from Newport on the Levee, also has a storied history. A historic marker at the bottom of the front steps identifies it as the birthplace of World War I Army Brigadier Gen. John Taliaferro Thompson, the co-inventor of the submachine gun nicknamed the Tommy gun. He was born there Dec. 31, 1860.
The mansion was built around 1814 for attorney Richard Southgate, who became a state legislator. Visitors to the home included Abraham Lincoln (before he was president); presidents John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and James Polk; and legislator Henry Clay.
The Knights of Columbus bought the home in 1914 and added the brick porch and a ballroom in the back of the house that could hold 550 people. That ballroom burned down in 1948 but was soon replaced.
The Dec. 31 closing show is a “whole-house” event, with 14 bands playing in all three performance spaces. The headliners are Cincinnati pop-punk trio the Dopamines, who are celebrating their five-year anniversary.
Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door for the 18-and-older show, which begins at 9 p.m.
Other acts scheduled to perform between now and the end of the year include comedic country musician Unknown Hinson (Dec. 3); local country rockers 500 Miles to Memphis (Dec. 10); comedian and School for Creative & Performing Arts grad Tyrone Hawkins (Dec. 15); Cincinnati rockers Chakras (Dec. 16); the Kentucky Struts’ album release concert (Dec. 17); the Ohio Blues Explosion (Dec. 18); and Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter Noah Sugarman’s annual Christmas show (Dec. 23).
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111...eakingnews
Renowned Newport music venue hosted wide variety of acts
The Southgate House in Newport will shut its doors after New Year’s Eve, its owners announced Monday.
Written by
Lauren Bishop
NEWPORT - The Southgate House, the historic Newport mansion-turned-music club that has been hailed as one of the best concert venues in the country, will shut its doors after New Year’s Eve, its owners announced Monday.
“While we are deeply saddened to close ... it’s been a great run and it’s been a great privilege to be the steward of such a grand building all these years,” owner Ross Raleigh said in a statement. “There have been many great memories made here, but the history is in the people and the music, not just the building, and the show must go on.”
Raleigh said in the statement that he hopes to relocate his business in 2012 and that he would release more information about that soon. The statement did not give a reason for the closing, and efforts to reach Raleigh Monday were unsuccessful.
Owned by Raleigh since 1976, the Southgate House is known for its diverse array of acts, encompassing alternative rock, punk, metal, country, blues, bluegrass and folk. Its three performance spaces – Juney’s Lounge in the first floor bar area, the library-like Parlour on the second floor and a 600-capacity ballroom with its horseshoe-shaped balcony and signature red curtain in the back of the house – have hosted up-and-coming as well as established local and national acts.
Grammy Award-winning bands such as Arcade Fire, the Black Keys and the White Stripes played there before they became household names, and it was a favorite venue of many touring acts, including legendary Dayton rockers Guided by Voices.
Bluegrass greats Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin and Del McCoury have also graced the Southgate House stage, as have folk heroes Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.
The Southgate House’s eclectic entertainment schedule and unique space has attracted national attention. Independent music magazine Paste called the Southgate House one of America’s 40 best music clubs in its May 2007 issue, and Esquire magazine ranked Cincinnati seventh on its list of 10 “Cities that Rock” in its April 2004 issue, citing Southgate one of the region’s top venues.
The building itself, located on Third Street across from Newport on the Levee, also has a storied history. A historic marker at the bottom of the front steps identifies it as the birthplace of World War I Army Brigadier Gen. John Taliaferro Thompson, the co-inventor of the submachine gun nicknamed the Tommy gun. He was born there Dec. 31, 1860.
The mansion was built around 1814 for attorney Richard Southgate, who became a state legislator. Visitors to the home included Abraham Lincoln (before he was president); presidents John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and James Polk; and legislator Henry Clay.
The Knights of Columbus bought the home in 1914 and added the brick porch and a ballroom in the back of the house that could hold 550 people. That ballroom burned down in 1948 but was soon replaced.
The Dec. 31 closing show is a “whole-house” event, with 14 bands playing in all three performance spaces. The headliners are Cincinnati pop-punk trio the Dopamines, who are celebrating their five-year anniversary.
Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door for the 18-and-older show, which begins at 9 p.m.
Other acts scheduled to perform between now and the end of the year include comedic country musician Unknown Hinson (Dec. 3); local country rockers 500 Miles to Memphis (Dec. 10); comedian and School for Creative & Performing Arts grad Tyrone Hawkins (Dec. 15); Cincinnati rockers Chakras (Dec. 16); the Kentucky Struts’ album release concert (Dec. 17); the Ohio Blues Explosion (Dec. 18); and Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter Noah Sugarman’s annual Christmas show (Dec. 23).
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111...eakingnews