“The benefit of having shows like that go to the Observatory is that its made a name for the Observatory and I think certain artists will want that look and again, it’s a credit to how they’ve been running the venue and establishing it as a super strong brand in both markets,” he said. In keeping with the spirit of what the Observatory has done as far as booking huge, established acts and smaller-scale more locally focused festivals either inside the venues or out in the parking lots, Weeden said that Live Nation will absolutely be building upon that tradition. It’s also a well-played strategy on Live Nation’s part because it can now route those rising or established acts through stops in San Diego and Orange County on the way up to Los Angeles and into venues like The Wiltern and the Hollywood Palladium. “From there, you’re well on your way to the amphitheater (with 12,000-capacity).” “In the major markets, we want to have a vertical ladder from artist development up through, frankly, FivePoint Ampitheatre (in Irvine) now, so the Observatory was the logical step because you’ve got The Constellation Room and The Parish, from there you can move up to the Observatory big room and then into the Anaheim House of Blues,” he explained. We’re just happy to be in there and want to continue to book it the way it has been booked.” Related Articles “It’s a great room with a great reputation and obviously, based on its calendar over the past few years, it has gotten some great shows.
“The good news is that the way it has been booked has been great and I don’t think there really is a need to completely change the type of shows that go in there,” he said. When news broke of a giant company coming in and scooping up another venue, some fans were nervous, but Live Nation COO of Clubs & Theaters, Ben Weeden, said they really having nothing to worry about. The Constellation Room also served as the very first shows for rock band Dreamcar, the super group project that featured Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal and Adrian Young of No Doubt and AFI frontman Davey Havok, as well as the first-ever show for Foo Fighters’ bassist Nate Mendel’s band, Lieutenant. Both stages drew a myriad of talent and the venue quickly garnered a following and became a fan and critic favorite small venue in the area that helped foster local talent, bring in a slew of hip-hop shows, a genre that was far under served in this market, and big-names for intimate evenings with artists like Morrissey, Marilyn Manson, Panic at the Disco! and the late Tom Petty’s Mudcrutch.
Live Nation took over booking both the Observatory in Santa Ana and the 1,100-capacity Observatory North Park, which opened in 2014 and was formerly the North Park Theatre, in December.Īfter initial renovations, the Observatory’s capacity increased to 1,000 and a smaller, 300-capacity room dubbed The Constellation Room was added inside as well. From 2015-2018, the venue was booked by Jeff Shulman of Goldenvoice. The independently owned Orange County venue was previously the 550-capacity Galaxy Theater and received a multi-million dollar makeover in 2011 when it reopened as The Observatory by Courtney Dubar, co-owner of the clothing brand Affliction, Courtney Michaelis and former promoter Jon Reiser, who had previously been co-owner of Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa and is now promoting shows at Garden Amp in Garden Grove.
Right as hordes of music fans began hitting the Empire Polo Club in Indio for weekend one of the annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on Friday, April 12, news broke that Los Angeles-based event promoters Live Nation had officially purchased the Observatory in Santa Ana and its sister venue, Observatory North Park, in San Diego.
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