A little more than three years ago, Satellite Ballroom converted a Plan 9 Music sublet into a hotspot for local and independent music. During its short tenure on the Corner, the venue has become an impressively vital source of live entertainment -- largely thanks to the persistent efforts of Satellite booking agent Danny Shea. "I had a list of bands that I would be really happy to have come, and I've been surprised at how many bands I've been able to scratch off that list," Shea said. These scratched names have included indie acts as popular and eclectic as Yo La Tengo, Animal Collective, Girl Talk, Deerhoof and Vashti Bunyan.
Yet all good things come to an end, it seems. As was announced this Monday, Plan 9 is allowing its lease on the Corner to expire -- thereby expulsing Satellite Ballroom, a subtenant. The implications for Charlottesville's local music scene are grim. As the only medium-sized venue in town, Satellite Ballroom's closing will leave a substantial gap for the live music scene in its wake. For the time being, there are many popular music acts -- ones too big for the Tea Bazaar, but too small for the Pavilion -- who will lack an appropriately sized venue.
James Ford, contributor to the Charlottesville music blog Nailgun Media, points out that the Satellite Ballroom situation is merely the latest in a long string of music venue closings. "In the two to three years that I've been here, I've seen the range of available venues narrow significantly," Ford said. Starr Hill recently merged with the now-closing Satellite Ballroom, Gravity Lounge has long been announcing its closing (even if it hasn't gotten around to it yet) and house parties are becoming ever rarer. Even if the Pavilion and John Paul Jones Arena continue to thrive, these larger venues fail to cultivate the same sense of community and cater only to those with bigger wallets and more mainstream musical preferences.
Venue closings continue to narrow the amount of choice that Charlottesville's music fans have -- especially for supporters of local music, or those with less conventional tastes. One of the most notable symptoms of these closings is that hip hop artists are almost never able to book shows, even though there a number of local acts who would love the opportunity to perform. The problem, however, extends to small-time artists from all genres. "I get e-mails weekly, from people out of town, who are having trouble setting up a show here, and I'm not even officially a booking agent," Ford said.
There is some hope, however. Satellite Ballroom is currently in the midst of searching for a new venue, and the promotional group Red Light Management (who recently invested in Satellite Ballroom) has a significant interest in making the relocation a success. "We are a little bit in scramble mode," Shea said. "We all felt like we'd be able to work out an extension for the lease, but apparently that's not the case." So while the demise of Satellite Ballroom isn't set in stone, the venue's future isn't clear either.
If one thing is certain, it's that Charlottesville has a community hungry for Satellite's music. Many students have worked hard to raise awareness of the situation via Facebook, and the "Satellite Unite" group has been organizing a letter writing campaign to Satellite lot owner Terry Vassalos. Furthermore, there are many community members who continue working hard to bring great music to Charlottesville. "There are a lot of dedicated, hard-working people organizing concerts here because they care about it," Ford said. Shea echoes these sentiments, albeit more reservedly. "On one hand, you can figure that it will sort itself out, that there's enough energy in this town. On the other hand, I'm a pretty big believer in not taking anything for granted."
It's unclear whether or not Satellite Ballroom or a comparatively sized venue will return, but one thing is certain -- recovering from this loss will take a lot of hard work from the very same people who have already done so much to bring great music to Charlottesville all these years. As Shea commented, "This business is a labor of love -- nobody is going to get rich, and you're lucky if you get it to work." Let's hope that fortune ends up on the side of people such as him. 3
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