BOSTON (WHDH) - The Great Scott music venue on Tuesday announced plans to reopen in a new location, four years after it last shut its doors at its longtime home on Commonwealth Avenue.
Great Scott first opened in 1976. It closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though the venue’s original location has since been leased out to a new tenant, Great Scott is set to reopen in a new space at the corner of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
The reborn Great Scott is on track to open after the club’s longtime booking manager reached out to Redefined CEO Paul Armstrong, who also produces the Boston Music Awards and serves as the publisher of the online music magazine Vanyaland. The pair then contacted local real estate developer Jordan Warshaw and together opted to buy space to house the new Great Scott.
“Since Great Scott closed four years ago, there has been such an outpouring of support for its reopening, but we live in a difficult economic climate where in the past few years more small venues have closed than have opened,” said booking manager Carl Lavin. “This partnership with Paul and Jordan has enabled us to create an economic model that will not only allow a new Great Scott to be built, but for it to be successful for many more years.”
Over the years, the original Great Scott played host to artists including Charli XCX, MGMT, Beach Bunny, Jack Harlow, Phoebe Bridgers, and Clario before they rose to higher levels of fame.
Entering a new era, Great Scott will have space for 300 patrons in a mixed-use building that will also house O’Brien’s Pub, another popular music venue; retail establishments; and rental housing, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
The redevelopment project is expected to span at least two years, with between six and nine months of permitting and design and 18 months of actual construction. More than $300,000 that supporters raised to help reopen Great Scott will be put toward developing the new facility.
Once the new venue opens, organizers said Armstrong’s company, Redefined, will handle the business side of the operation, including ticketing and marketing.
“The reborn Great Scott will stay true to its roots by focusing on community integration, offering artist residences and noise mitigation to provide comfort for nearby residents,” organizers said. “Nestled in Allston, a vibrant neighborhood teeming with young residents and close to universities, Great Scott is set to once again become a beloved cultural hub, uniting the community through live music and memorable events.”
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