Dave Grohl and Seth Hurwitz tour the construction site for The Anthem in DC. (Photo courtesy IMP)
The Foo Fighters will headline opening night at The Anthem, the upcoming sister concert venue to 9:30 Club, announced IMP, the independent promotions company that owns both, on Monday.
Tickets go on sale Friday, June 16, at 10am ET for the show on Thursday, Oct. 12 via Ticketfly.com. Tickets also are available at the box offices of 9:30 Club, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and Lincoln Theatre during normal business hours.
The Anthem will open at The Wharf on DC’s Southwest Waterfront on Oct. 12 for its inaugural concert. Dave Grohl, vocalist and drummer for Foo Fighters, grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, has long been a patron and a performer of 9:30 Club.
“There was never any question about who would open. There was no Plan B,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of IMP, co-owner of the 9:30 Club and The Anthem, and operator of the Lincoln Theatre and Merriweather Post Pavilion. “It was always just the Foos. I texted Dave some photos of the venue after we started building it and asked him ‘Who else should open it?’ He said ‘Nobody.’ That was the end of it.”
Seth and Dave toured The Anthem under construction a couple of months ago, according to IMP. The Foo Fighters frontman approved of the space.
“The new place is set to become the number one venue in America, I shit you not,” said Dave Grohl. “It has the illusion of a stadium, but the intimacy of a nightclub. It’s perfect. From a production standpoint, it’s got everything an arena-touring band would need, but it offers a tighter vibe with an audience than those bigger rooms. Every vantage point is the best seat in the house. I mean, they really put a lot of thought into the audience perspective. Doesn’t matter where you are: on the floor, in a balcony, at the bar, you’re going to feel close to the band.”
Dave and his bandmates — Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee — released a new song on June 1. Watch the official music video for “Run,” directed by Dave, on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifwc5xgI3QM]
Later in June, IMP will announce more than a dozen shows to detail other bands appearing in the early days of The Anthem.
The Anthem will have a flexible capacity of anywhere from 2,500 to a maximum of 6,000, with alternating seated and general admission configurations. The stage and backdrop can move, making the differences between capacities undetectable over multiple visits.
Participants in the 9:30 Friends with Benefits program also can earn and spend rewards at The Anthem, IMP confirmed.
Read more about the opening plans for The Anthem on Parklife DC.
Foo Fighters
The Anthem
Thursday, Oct 12.
Doors 6:30pm
$100-$175
All ages