We’ve been invited to help kick off the grand re-opening of the newly renovated Columbia City Theater in Seattle’s South End. We’ve kicked it there a few times – one of the Cloud Family’s earliest performances took place there, and I recall a Toys for Tots benefit show last Christmas followed by a memorable New Years Eve party – but for the most part the theater seems dormant in comparison to the fast-changing community surrounding it.

In its hay-day the theater housed tremendous acts such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Seattle’s own guitar god Jimi Hendrix. Since the theater opened in 1917, it’s been a jazz club, an artists’ commune, a virtual squat, a rave space, and a punk venue that was part of the ’80s DIY self-booking network (Seattle Weekly).

The theater’s new owners CB Shamah and Rob Hillman are on a mission to revitalize the venue and nurture the plethora of new talent in the Seattle music scene. With a stunning new remodel, the help of locals like Larry Mizell, Jr. helping book acts, and former Crocodile master engineer Jim Anderson running the sound, Shamah and Hillman hope to turn the place into the premier music venue that the South End needs.

Swing through on June 25th and hang with us. In our hood. You know how we get down. Let’s make it CRACK. We need this to happen for our community!

Find our event on Facebook, RSVP and invite your friends!