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Williamsburg's Glasslands To Close, Is Vice Media To Blame?
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 21, 2014
Modified Oct 21, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 21, 2014
Modified Oct 21, 2014
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And so, another one bites the dust: Glasslands, one of the city's best down-and-dirty performance spaces, will shutter at the end of the year, following in the footsteps of fellow Williamsburg Waterfront venues 285 Kent and Death By Audio. 2014 has been a terrible fucking year.
The Glasslands crew made the announcement on their website this morning, confirming that their last show will be on New Year's Eve:
You’re probably getting used to hearing news like this in Williamsburg, so we’ll cut right to the chase: this New Year’s Eve will be Glasslands’ final night of music.
When Glasslands opened in 2006 as an experimental community art space, Kent Avenue felt like a forgotten backwater, scattered with old warehouses playing temporary home to non-profit arts collectives, galleries, and DIY shows. During that time, our single block saw a handful of historically ambitious art & music spaces open: Secret Project Robot/Lives With Animals, Paris London West Nile, Pyramids, Death By Audio, 285 Kent… we’re proud to have grown up in this place and time.
It was an awesome blur: there were shows with MGMT, TV On The Radio, Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Disclosure, Alt-J, there were Soul Clap dance competitions, there were aerialists, comedians, theater groups, fashion shows, raves.
Most importantly, the staff, artists, and party people that have been a part of Glasslands for the past 8 years made the venue a special creative home for music, and a joy to run. It’s impossible to fully communicate how grateful we are for all your love and support.
We’ve got a few months left, and we intend for them to be our best ever. Please come by and help us celebrate our final season.
Goodbye for now, but not forever.
Though Glasslands has not yet offered a reason for the closure, the news is unsurprising. In January, neighboring DIY venue 285 Kent shut down after weeks of speculation. Death by Audio, located just up South 2nd Street, will shutter in November for undisclosed reasons.
Both Glasslands and DBA's fates were called into question over the summer, when it was revealed that Vice Media was looking into moving their offices to South 2nd Street and Kent Ave; though it's unknown whether Vice's impending relocation has impacted these venues, it's clear the landscape has changed.
We reached out to Glasslands for additional comment, and will update if and when we hear back. For now, crack open a can of Rolling Rock and tell yourself things will be better in Quooklyn.
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285 kent
death by audio
glasslands
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williamsburg
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Rebecca Fishbein
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