Foo Fighters Will Open the Atlantis, the 9:30 Club’s New Venue

A new venue will open in DC on May 30: The Atlantis, a detailed reconstruction of the original 9:30 Club on F Street, Northwest, directly behind 815 V Street, Northwest, the 9:30’s location since 1996. Foo Fighters will inaugurate the new club on 9th Street on May 30, 43 years minus one day after the old 9:30 opened. Dave Grohl announced the new club when Foo Fighters played a surprise show at 9:30 in 2021.

The new venue will have a capacity of 450 people and, according to owner I.M.P., will closely resemble the original club—without the rats and its weird smell—though it will include a “nod to the infamous pole” that obstructed views for so many attendees.

The Atlantis will open with a slate of 44 shows through the end of September to celebrate the 9:30’s 44th year in business. Shows will cost $44 and will feature artists from the 9:30’s “history, its present, and the future,” the club says in a press release. Artists include Pixies (June 6), Portugal. The Man (July 28), and Billy Idol (September 17). A full list is at the end of this post.

I.M.P., which owns and operates 9:30 Club and the Anthem and operates the Lincoln Theatre and Merriweather Post Pavilion, bought the original 9:30 Club in 1986. Real estate developer Jon Bowers and Dodi Disanto bought the Atlantic building at 930 F Street in May 1980. The original club’s slogan was “9:30 – a place and a time.” I.M.P. founder and owner Seth Hurwitz began booking shows at the club that year.

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Bands like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fugazi, and R.E.M., played the original 9:30 over the years, but its capacity was only 200. The larger Black Cat opened on 14th Street, Northwest, in 1993, around the same time that the Atlantic Building’s owner wanted to bring in new tenants. Hurwitz and his then co-owner, Rich Heinecke, decided to move the club to the former home of DC radio station WUST, a building that already had a remarkable music history and could hold 1,200 people.

Tickets for the 44 shows will be sold through a lottery system, open now through April 7 at 11:59 PM on the Atlantis website. Tickets are non-transferable, but if you win and cannot attend a show, a ticket exchange option will be available.

Here’s a list of the shows planned:

May 30: Foo Fighters

May 31: The Walkmen

Katie Kenny

Editorial Fellow