The Paradise Rock Club (formerly known as the Paradise Theater) is a 933-capacity music venue in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Due to its relatively small size, it appeals to top local

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

performers as well as American and British bands visiting Boston for the first time ( R.E.M.,

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music ...

). The venue accommodates small music festivals and non music related events. The Paradise is located on the edge of

Boston University's Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campus ...

campus and draws a student-based crowd. Most shows have an age requirement of eighteen or older.

History

The Paradise Rock Club opened as the Paradise Theater on September 22, 1977. It was owned by The Don Law Company, a Boston music giant that also controlled the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (la ...

and the Cape Cod Coliseum. Don Law was a former BU student who got his start working as a promoter for the Boston band The Remains. Identifying Boston's large student population as a key music market, Law and colleague Frank Barsalona began purchasing Boston venues to capitalize on the strong local music scene and willing audience. The Paradise was transferred to SFX Entertainment (now

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertai ...

) in 1998 when The Don Law Company ( dba Blackstone Entertainment) was sold for a reported $80 million to SFX. But the venue was purchased back by Don Law and partner David Mugar in 2009 and subsequently owned by Don Law, Declan Mehigan and

Joe Dunne Joseph John Dunne (born 25 May 1973) is an Irish football manager and former footballer who is currently assistant manager of Newport County. Dunne played as a defender in the Football League for Gillingham and Colchester United, and brief ...

. It is now owned by Law, Mehigan, Dunne and Mugar. The Don Law Company is now Crossroads Presents and still prominent players in the Boston music scene as owners of The Paradise, the Orpheum Theater, House of Blues Boston, and the Brighton Music Hall in partnership with Live Nation. In 2010, Paradise Rock Club completed a three-month renovation that moved the stage fifteen feet to the left, relocated the box office to the front of the venue, demolished the bar and positioned it to the back of the venue. These renovation features provided an open view of the stage. The artist rooms were relocated to the second floor, and upgraded with televisions and refrigerators, as well as doubled in room size. Other new additions to the venue were a separate space provided for opening acts and a private bathroom with a shower installed next to the newly added dressing rooms. In addition, a new washer and dryer were also installed as "All the bands that come through are always looking for the nearest laundromat, so we figured, why not," said Declan Mehigan.

References

{{Authority control Music venues in Boston