Venue Spotlight: Red 7

By Xochitl Hansen

In the center of all the chaos in Austin, Texas lies a venue that stays true to music, the Red 7. Located on Red River and Seventh – hence the name- the venue is known for being able to let patrons of all ages have a good time all while staying safe. With an outdoor stage and indoor stage the Red 7 caters to a large verity of people. With a full bar inside and out, you defiantly will not go thirsty! The Red 7 also offers nonalcoholic beverages for those under the age of 21, along with complimentary water. Now, describing a music venue you wouldn’t even dare go into detail regarding the bathroom, but with the Red 7 I will.  Obviously any venue bathroom isn’t hospital level clean, although the Red 7 does keep it there bathrooms pretty top notch. At least for the women!

Being part of the Austin music community venue space of the Red 7 is used during music festivals such as South By South West (SXSW) and Fun Fun Fun Fest. During those times the venue does go from being an all ages venue to a 21+ venue, but don’t fret it doesn’t last long! Along with venue traffic, the Red  7 has notable artist play such as Green Day, The Story So Far, and Asking Alexandria.

If you’re ever in the capital of the Lone Star state make sure you cut out a chunk of your time and head on over to the Red 7!

Venue Information:

Red 7 Website www.red7austin.com

Red 7 Instagram www.instagram.com/red7austin

Red 7 Twitter www.twitter.com/red_7

Local Spotlight: Lovin' Cup

This venue is probably one the the most frequented places on my list. I'm literally there like once a week. They have great food, a great bar, and an amazing cafe with the best hot chocolate you'll ever have.

They also host a range of events, including concerts, open mic nights, dances and the like. It's a great place to hang out no matter what the occasion. The venue is fairly new, as it was built in 2008 as a part of a student housing complex on Rochester Institute of Technology's campus. In that time frame however, it has become a staple in Rochester's live music scene!

If you'd like to check out a show, here's what going on the next week!

January 31: ALYSSA TRAHAN'S "WILD & CRAZY" EP RELEASE PARTY 4PM

January 31: COEXISTENCE, MEG WILLIAMS BAND & THIS LIFE (DUO) 8PM

February 2: LOVIN' CUP IDOL

February 3: OPEN MIC NIGHT

February 5: THE LAWN BOYS - A TRIBUTE TO PHISH

February 6: OHS W/ MD WOODS & MIKE BROWN

February 7: STEPHANE WREMBEL - 5PM SHOW

February 7: STEPHANE WREMBEL - 9PM SHOW

Local Spotlight: Bug Jar

The Bug Jar is a venue that I actually only started going to recently, but I'm glad I started. It's a really cool venue, with a bar and an intimate stage setup, and a lot of their shows are local bands.

My favorite part of this venue is the decoration. It's eclectic, it's fun, and a lot of it is done by locals. The walls are absolutely covered in art, and the venue part (in a separate room from the bar) features an upside-down living room on the ceiling.

There's something going on at this venue 7 days a week, whether it's a band or a DJ, which makes it one of the most active venues in Rochester.

Check out a show this week:

Friday Jan 30: Made Violent w/ Howlo / The Flashing Astonishers / & Muler

Saturday Jan 31: Continental Drifft w/ Embers / & Wixly & Crump

Sunday Feb 01: What Moon Things w/ Guntrouble / Big Fred / & Cantelope

Monday Feb 02: Thinkin' & Drinkin': The Bug Jar's Trivia Hour (8:00 pm) / Manic Monday Retro Dance (10 pm)

Tuesday Feb 03: Empire! Empire! w/ Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers / Keeler / & Lighters (Formerly Cult Classic) (TeenSet 45 Dance Party to follow bands at midnight)

Local Venue Spotlight: The Montage Music Hall

The Montage Music Hall is relatively new, being only twenty years old. However, given that time frame, it has already become one of Rochester's most well known venues, which is not an easy feat given the amount of venues in this city.

It's a smaller venue, just a room with enough space for 300 people. It's often used during the International Jazz Festival and the Rochester Fringe Fest. Most often though, I end up there for local shows, because it has a great intimate feel to it.

If you'd like to catch a show their next few are as follows:

Friday, January 9: Mushroomhead (with Erimha, Unsaid Fate and Thira)

Friday, January 23: Cabinet (with The Honey Smugglers)

Saturday, January 31: Unborn Society Reunion (with Without Regret, The Closer, Beneath Hell's Sky, and The Unlearning)  


You can also stay up to date with show announcements on their social media:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Local Venue Spotlight: Water Street Music Hall

Water Street Music Hall is one of my favorite venues in town. When it comes to shows, this is the venue I end up at most of the time. I've been going here since I was about eleven years old, and I fell in love with it the minute I walked in.

The venue opened in 1977 as a place called The Warehouse, and went through several name changes before it finally became Water Street Music hall in 1999. There are actually two separate rooms, the hall and the club at Water Street. The club part is a lot smaller than the hall, but shows in both sections are amazing. The hall allows for high energy, bigger shows (such as the Blessthefall show back in August), while the club side allows for more intimate shows. I've seen Teddy Geiger play the club side countless times.

The inside of the venue is really cool as well, with album covers and signed memorabilia covering the walls upstairs and downstairs. There's a balcony with seating upstairs as well. But I think my favorite thing (other than the shows of course) is the piano that's on the club side of the venue:

This piano was one of the first things I noticed at the venue, and it's my favorite piece there to this day. 

If you're looking to catch any shows at this venue, they have two more shows this year!

December 6- The Ragbirds (with Teressa Wilcox and Daniel Champagne)- Club side

December 13- Sirens & Sailors (with Boulders, Million Miles from Broadway, Storm the Bay and more)- Hall side

To get updates on the venue, follow them on social media:

Facebook

Twitter

Website