Legendary Boston music venue that closed during pandemic planning to reopen in new location

BOSTON — A legendary Boston music venue that was forced to close its doors in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic announced plans Tuesday to reopen in new location.

Great Scott, an iconic live music venue at the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street in Allston, had been hosting show since 1976 before the pandemic hit. A comeback is now in the works just up the street from its original location.

The closure of Great Scott sparked an outpouring of support and a petition signed by 25,000 people ultimately raised more than $300,000, but it wasn’t enough to save the original location as the space was leased to another tenant.

Last year, Great Scott’s longtime booker, Carl Lavin, reached out out to Redefined CEO, Paul Armstrong, producer of the Boston Music Awards and publisher of the online music magazine Vanyaland, to join forces in finding a new home for the venue.

Armstrong then contacted Jordan Warshaw of The Noannet Group, most recently known for the development of the landmark hotel Raffles Boston, to seek out potential spaces to relaunch Great Scott. Soon thereafter, they identified and signed an agreement to purchase a new location just two blocks up Harvard Avenue from Great Scott’s former home.

“Since Great Scott closed four years ago, there has been such an outpouring of support for its reopening, but we live in a difficult economic climate where in the past few years more small venues have closed than have opened,” Lavin said in a statement. “This partnership with Paul and Jordan has enabled us to create an economic model that will not only allow a new Great Scott to be built, but for it to be successful for many more years.”

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Great Scott reopening (Photos provided by 44 Communications/Great Scott)

Great Scott had served as an essential launching pad for many celebrated artists, hosting a range of musicians before they achieved widespread acclaim, including Charli XCX, MGMT, Beach Bunny, Jack Harlow, and Phoebe Bridgers, among many others.

The redevelopment plan will feature two seperate venues in a mixed-used building including Great Scott with room for up to 300 patrons and O’Brien’s Pub with a 75-person capacity. The project also plans to incorporate retail space and rental housing.

Permitting and design for the new space are expected to take six to nine months, followed by an estimated 18-month construction timeline. The $300,000 originally raised by community supporters will be directed towards developing the new space.

While Great Scott will bring back the charming, dive-bar vibes of the old place that fans grew to love, modern back-of-house improvements for artist comfort and state-of-the-art sound and lighting will be rolled out at the new location.

A target opening date has been set for 2026.

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