Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg will Lose its Lease in 2026

“the weeknd @ music hall of williamsburg 4.25.2012” by ezola is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg will lose its lease at the end of 2026, forcing the iconic Brooklyn venue to close or relocate. The Bowery Presents’ foundational venue will shutter just before celebrating two decades at 66 North Sixth Street, as disclosed in an internal memo from the promoter’s co-partners Jim Glancy and John Moore obtained by Variety.

Since its establishment in 2007 as the second Bowery Presents-operated venue, taking over the space from the smaller Northsix, the Music Hall of Williamsburg has become an essential part of New York’s competitive live music ecosystem. After providing a vital early spotlight for countless massive acts – including Mumford and Sons, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, Brandi Carlile, The War on Drugs, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES, Ed Sheeran, Tyler, The Creator, The xx, The Weeknd, Robyn, Maggie Rogers and Geese – the venue has earned a reputation as a proving ground for promising talent. 

Since The Bowery Presents’ acquisition by AEG in 2017, the 650-capacity venue has been a key stop in the global promotion enterprise’s East Coast regional circuit. While the owners have not been made aware of any future uses for the space of announced plans for an alternate location for the venue, The Music Hall of Williamsburg will continue to host concerts through the end of next year. Some artists already confirmed include The Barr Brothers, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, Rosali, The Greyboy Allstars, Langhorne Slim, Hatchie, Sports, Dean Johnson, Skullcrusher, femtanyl and Spiritual Cramp.

More information on the Music Hall of Williamsburg is available at bowerypresents.com. Read Glancy and Moore’s full memo below.

Hello Bowery Family:

When The Bowery Presents first formed in 2004, we had worked with venues including Webster Hall, Mercury Lounge, and Bowery Ballroom, producing club shows throughout Manhattan. In September of 2007, our commitment to and focus on artist development led us to what many considered a new frontier: Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Music Hall of Williamsburg arrived at a time when the North Brooklyn neighborhood was having a cultural awakening, and we were among the first music clubs to open in the neighborhood and establish tenure.

After nearly two decades, The Bowery Presents has been notified by the owners of 66 North 6th Street that our lease for Music Hall of Williamsburg will not be renewed, and our time in the building will come to an end at the conclusion of 2026. We will continue to produce shows at Music Hall throughout next year, making each moment count for rising talent and returning stars, ensuring the legacy of this venue and its impact on both the neighborhood and music overall is secured in history.

Music Hall quickly established itself as a foundational venue for both artists and our staff alike. We opened the venue and hosted countless artists at the very beginning of their careers, including Mumford and Sons, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, Ed Sheeran, Tyler, The Creator, Brandi Carlile, The xx, The Weeknd, Robyn, Disclosure, The War on Drugs, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES, Maggie Rogers, Fred again.., Geese, and Audrey Hobert, to name just a few. Several of these artists grew their careers and audiences with Bowery through our larger clubs and on to arenas and stadiums. Music Hall has also made headlines with underplays featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Harry Styles, Deftones, and dozens of other legendary artists. In addition, we saw some of Bowery’s own staff begin their careers at Music Hall and make the move to larger stages and productions.

While we cannot speak to the future of 66 North 6th Street, The Bowery Presents is grateful for our time there, our staff that helps operate the venue night-after-night, and our collective commitment as a company to artist development. And as always, our passion for identifying new and exciting places for artists and fans to experience the transcendental power of live music will continue, as it has since we first crossed the bridge two decades ago.

Music Hall of Williamsburg is a special place to all of us at Bowery. Let’s make our final year on North 6th Street one to remember.

Jim & JoMo