Bunkhouse Saloon in downtown Las Vegas closes
The Bunkhouse Saloon has inexplicably gone dark. With seemingly no notice or explanation, the popular downtown music destination at 124 S. 11th Street issued word via its Facebook page that it is no longer operational, as of today:
"The Bunkhouse Saloon regrets to announce that we have closed our doors, effective immediately. Ticketholders for future shows will be contacted by Ticketfly regarding refunds. On behalf of our staff, management, and production team we would like to thank every artist who graced our stage and every person who visited us for a show or a cold beer. You made Bunkhouse something we will never forget."
The closing announcement comes just less than a year after the venue re-opened this past fall after undergoing extensive renovations, including improvements to the staging and sound, as well as expanding the capacity and moving the entrance.
“The marquee on Monday may have read ‘Back from the dead,’ but the fact is, this is no zombie/Lazarus Bunkhouse, but a new venue in all but name,” wrote Jason Bracelin after last fall’s grand reopening. “And it’s an improved one in just about every way — better sound, roomier interior, more space to hang out outside, higher caliber of bands being booked while still giving Vegas acts plenty of opportunities to play the room. Granted, nothing will replace the memories of the old Bunkhouse for a lot of people. Time to make some new ones instead.”
The news is incredibly disappointing for music fans and for the local scene, as the Bunkhouse not only consistently booked compelling acts -- outfits like Tuxedo, whose show last month was packed to the gills and absolutely jaw-dropping – but it was also an integral hub for the local scene.
The impact on local acts like Same Sex Mary, which was set to celebrate the release of its latest album at the Bunkhouse this Saturday, in the company of Hidden Levels and Dark Black, both set to make their scene debut, is both immediate and profound.
“We had a full rehearsal last night,” says Tsvetelina Stefanova of Same Sex Mary. “We’ve got 7 choir members and 2 actors, a director and all these people. We’re about to have practice with Hassan, who’s rapping on one of the songs. We have all these people involved in this, and we’re still trying to wrap our heads around it.”
According to Stefanova, this evening, she’s slated to meet with Mike Henry, talent buyer for Downtown Projects, who, from the sounds of it, is doing everything he can to help move the gig to an alternate venue. Still, the news of the Bunkhouse closing is a huge setback for the local act.
"We expected our show to sell out, and we were banking on that,” says Stefanova, whose band had an elaborate production planned. “We bought CDs and were hoping to be able to pay for them, and we also want to compensate everyone involved. There are probably like 20 people involved in this whole thing. And working with everyone’s schedule. If we have to do it on different days now...we need to make sure we can find a place where we can get this production done properly.
“It just really, really sucks,” she goes on. “We’ve worked so hard on this. I’ve printed I don’t know how many countless fliers that we’ve distributed and posters that say it’s at the Bunkhouse. We’ve just put in so much work into this. I just don’t know what to think.”
Downtown Project Ventures, which oversees a host of downtown properties, including the Gold Spike, the Market, Oak & Ivy, the Las Vegas Hostel and Container Park, among others, issued a statement earlier today from CEO Mark Rowland:
“The Bunkhouse Saloon has closed, effective Monday, July 20. We’re proud of the committed employees and all of the artists who rocked the stage of the Bunkhouse Saloon, and we’re engaging in conversation with potential new operators and considering new concepts. Ticket holders will be contacted automatically through Ticketfly.”
Aside from the statement, there’s no definitive word yet on why the venue closed so abruptly or what the plans are from here, but we’ll keep you posted as things become clearer. In the meantime, also keep an eye out for word on when/if the Same Sex Mary CD release show is rescheduled.
Contact Dave Herrera at dherrera@reviewjournal.com.
