I.M.P.’s Newest Venue The Atlantis Offers 44 Incredible Shows for $44 Each
Tickets are only available through a lottery system and choices must be made by Friday, April 7, at 11:59 p.m.
Earlier this week, on April 4 (or, 4/4, to be exact), I.M.P. Productions announced plans to celebrate its history — specifically the 44th anniversary since the company took root at the original 9:30 Club.
That storied tiny, extraordinary dive bar was located in a building that no longer stands from an era of downtown D.C. that is as different from today’s D.C. as night is from day.
The venue, which had been renamed the 9:30 Club by Seth Hurwitz and his I.M.P. business partner Rich Heinecke in a simple nod to the property’s street address at 930 F Street NW, had previously been known as The Atlantis.
Forty-four years later, the company has announced plans to revive that name for its latest venture, a $10-million project being developed as an homage to, and a near replica of, the old 930 Club, but nearly twice as large, with an expected maximum capacity of 450 versus the original’s 200 or so limit.
Located just behind the historic Shaw venue at 9th and V Streets NW that has served for years as the 9:30 Club since 1996, the Atlantis will open on the exact 44th anniversary of the 9:30 Club, Tuesday, May 30 with a concert headlined by the Foo Fighters.
Nearly six years ago, the Dave Grohl-led band opened The Anthem, the company’s mid-sized 6,000-capacity venue down at the DC Wharf, and also did the honors for the pandemic reopening of the club two years ago.
The Atlantis’s opening lineup features a total slate of 44 artists who have all previously played at the 9:30 Club and are, to varying degrees, near and dear to the company — some of whom are usually booked at The Anthem, or even the I.M.P.-run Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Among the LGBTQ-identified acts, the lineup features Rainbow Kitten Surprise (6/3), Tegan and Sara (7/6), The Magnetic Fields (7/15), Bartees Strange (9/9), and Tove Lo (9/15).
Queer-popular acts include Hot Chip (6/2), Franz Ferdinand (6/5), The Pixies (6/6), Sylvan Esso (6/19), Joan Jett (8/27), Jenny Lewis (7/21), Gogol Bordello (8/5), Ben Gibbard (9/2), Bastille (9/21), and Maggie Rogers (9/29).
Other notable acts scheduled through the summer are Tank and the Bangas (6/9), Yo La Tengo (6/10), Darius Rucker (6/20), X (6/25), The Head and the Heart (7/7), Portugal. The Man (7/28), Living Colour (7/29), Iron & Wine (7/30), Bush (8/6), Drive-By Truckers (8/10), Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton (8/14), Thievery Corporation (8/17), Spoon (9/13), Billy Idol (9/17), and Matt and Kim (9/22).
“After the opening series, our intention is to book only the shows that matter,” says Hurwitz in an official release. “We want people to rely on us to tell them that someday you will say you saw them when…. There is nothing like seeing a great act in a small venue.” The Atlantis’s official tagline is, “Where Music Begins.”
Tickets for the inaugural run of shows are priced at $44 each, are non-transferrable, and will be sold via Ticketmaster Request, a lottery-style process that helps “ensure real fans attend the shows.”
Selections must be made by Friday, April 7, at 11:59 p.m. The lottery winners will be announced next week.
A fan-to-fan face-value ticket exchange system has also been put in place for those who can’t attend selected shows in the end. Visit www.TheAtlantis.com.
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