What is The AV Lounge?
It’s a live performance venue. We want it to be a place where you can see just about anything. There will be a lot of music, and it will be from all genres, but there will be plenty beyond live music.
Like what?
Like anything that people want to come see. There will be comedy, theatre, magic (I love magic), hypnotism, video game tournaments, silent film, open mic, burlesque, trivia competitions… Honestly, I’ll put anything I’m allowed to on stage if people want to see it.
If you have an idea for a show, send it to [email protected].
Who is your “target market?”
Everybody, really. The original idea, however, was to create a space for all ages shows. There is plenty to do in this town if you are over 21. However, there is very little to do if you are under 21 (and there are a lot of people in this town under 21). As many of the shows as possible will be all ages.
Not to sound too old, but we loved seeing live music when we were younger. We loved playing live music at local places where we felt we belonged. It seems like those places don’t exist as much anymore, so we decided to make one. We want a band’s first performance to be on our stage. We want you to see a band that you’ve never heard of play and then a year later you have to pay a bunch of money and go to Omaha to see again. Then, you can be all smug in the crowd and tell everybody that you saw them “like a year ago.”
Can my band/act/juggling troupe perform there?
Yeah, probably. Send us an email [email protected] and tell us what you do, give us a link to anything you have online. Give us available dates. If you have EPK, link to that. If you don’t know what an EPK is, awesome, I didn’t either until six months ago.
When are your open?
That will change from week to week and month to month. We have a calendar with upcoming shows that we will keep up to date. We have a facebook page that will likewise announce shows. We won’t be open more than two to three days a week because booking live music for a Tuesday night is tough, and we have other jobs to do.
Mostly it will be Friday and Saturday nights. It will depend on the show, but doors will usually open around 6, and we will be closed by midnight (sometimes earlier).
So, is it a bar?
No. It’s not. There are plenty of bars in Vermillion. There are some great bars in Vermillion. I mean, Carey’s exists. The AV Lounge is going to try to make it all about the performance. You are there to experience something
So, you won’t serve alcohol?
For a lot of the shows, no. The goal is to be an all ages venue. A place were people under 21 feel like they belong. Furthermore, people over 21 feel like they have a place to go see a great performance away from the average bar atmosphere.
No alcohol?
We do have the license to serve beer, wine, and cider, and there will definitely be shows that are 21+ where we serve it. There will also be some all ages shows where we will serve. However, the focus is on the performance, there literally isn’t even a bar to sit at.