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Date: 4/19/2022
AMHERST – The grand opening weekend for The Drake, Amherst’s first live performance and music venue, will start on April 28 with performances by Regina Carter and others throughout the weekend, before a ribbon cutting on May 2.
There will be a soft opening on April 26 featuring the Green Street Trio. Other performers over the weekend include a host of local and national talent including Loudon Wainwright III on April 30 and collaboration between Home Body and Nova One in the final show of the weekend on May 1. Other shows can be found and tickets can be purchased online at www.thedrakeamherst.com.
The Downtown Amherst Foundation (DAF) is responsible for The Drake’s creation as a nonprofit “whose purpose is to build and create culture, beauty, and programming in Downtown Amherst that ensures a thriving, beautiful and diverse cultural college community,” according to the DAF website.
“The Drake was conjured up on a cold and miserable January night in the middle of the pandemic while reading countless old surveys from the Business Improvement District (BID), the town, and the Chamber of Commerce asking what Amherst needed and every single one said a music and performance venue,” said Gabrielle Gould, executive director of the BID and DAF. “We got to thinking about a long empty space downtown and if it was gutted and rebuilt could it be [the venue]. We then put a presentation together and met with the owner, Barry Roberts, who told us to make it happen.”
A press release by the DAF earlier this month said that nightly entertainment at The Drake will come from nationally and internationally recognized performers under the purview of Laudable Productions, known for presenting festivals, concerts and other cultural events across the Pioneer Valley. The DAF and BID will assist in booking events with local performers.
The venue will feature mixed seating arrangements with varying capacities. Gould said the standing capacity is 240 and theater seating tops out at 170. They also plan on having tables for 132 people, but that layout is not finalized.
“We believe in the power of the arts to enrich our lives and knit communities together. We’re excited to present a range of artists at the Drake that will appeal to the community’s diverse population and draw culturally curious and savvy travelers from outside the region as well, benefiting Amherst’s many restaurants and other businesses,” said Laudable’s Creative Director Cassandra Holden.
The Drake is located on the second floor of the Amherst Bank Building at 44 N. Pleasant St. It is named after a beloved bar in Amherst that closed in 1985 to be turned into rental apartments.
“The original Drake is remembered with a glow of nostalgia that has elevated the storied local hangout to urban legend status,” a press release from Laudable said. “The notorious graffiti lamenting the closure, tagged on the Amherst Cinema wall the night the Drake closed for good, remains to this day and will be adapted into a neon sculpture in the venue’s entryway. No other local bar or hangout ever quite achieved the diverse culture of the original Drake. All were welcome and gathered as one, leaving race and class structure at the door. The new venue is founded on this same vision of diversity and inclusivity for both performers and audience.”
Food will not be offered at the venue in order to encourage locals and visitors to support restaurants in downtown Amherst. A full-service bar featuring cocktails, beer and wine will be available.
The DAF and BID are also collaborating with Amherst College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Amherst Regional High School to provide a space for students, faculty and alumni performers to be on stage. On the fourth Tuesday of every month, the “Feedback live” series will raise proceeds to go toward a local nonprofit.
“The first four will focus on food insecurity because between the past two-plus years of pandemic hell and now inflation and food costs going through the roof this is undeniably a very important cause to address,” Gould said. “The BID will hire a local band or DJ, hire a local small restaurant to do passed lite bites and we will charge $35 at the door. The evening profits will be split between the Downtown Amherst Foundation and the entity we chose. Our ‘First 4’ will be The Amherst Survival Center, Not Bread Alone, The Mobile Food Market and The FoodBank of Western Mass. We hope this not only helps raise funds for these organizations but also raises awareness.”