From rock to indie to hip-hop to reggae, the demolition of many live music venues has been known by various names over the years, including Cowhouse, Beta Bar, Engine Room, and more recently GVO (Good Vibes Only) and Sidebar. residents are mourning the loss.
Here’s why: The venue will be demolished and the 1.09-acre site will be transformed into a five-story student housing development.
More information: Four-tier development plan to transform Railroad Avenue amid student housing boom
Located on Railroad Avenue near West Gaines Street, this music house is a treasure trove of memories for those who come from near and far for live music events, late nights out, and the good vibes the space provides. did.
The venue served as a gathering place for many, whether it was standing in the crowded bar waiting for your next drink or socializing with friends while listening to the loud music that filled the garden area.
“It’s great to be able to bring all kinds of shows like this to town,” Brian Giblett, former owner of the Cow House and Beta Bar, said in an email with the Tallahassee Democrat. “It’s a great room for shows, and a lot of bands used to play there before it got big.”
Performers included Fall Out Boy, Band of Horses, Peaches, Talib Kweli, New Found Glory, Iron & Wine, Mastodon, The Avett Brothers, Mountain Goats, They Might Be Giants, and Lydia. A wide variety of entertainers are booked for lunch and other events, with a recent notable list of local DJs.
“It was a place known for booking a wide variety of live acts,” said Mark Hinson, a Tallahassee Democrat and longtime entertainment and pop culture writer, adding that “it was a place known for booking a variety of live acts,” including L.A. punk band X’s “Furious.” He mentioned his memorable night attending live shows, including “The Great Show.” A heavy metal band dressed up as characters from the McDonald’s commercial “Mac Sabbath.”
“In January, the water shut off. In May, a tornado tore apart Railroad Square, and now Beta Bar lies in rubble. Tallahassee is quirky,” said Hinson, who retired in 2019. “We are gradually losing our true soul,” he added.
The upcoming project is one of several adjacent developments planned for the area, all of which are being built by Tampa’s boutique real estate development services firm 908 Group. Per permitting documents, the project is called 908 All Saints Sites 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Fans posted photos of the building’s demolition on the social media page “wuzhadnintally” on Monday, even though it has remained vacant for two years and its reputation has been tarnished by gun violence in its six months of operation.
Comments were filled with people expressing regret at the destruction of local landmarks. Most comments identified the location as the building’s final form, nightclub GVO.
This music and club venue served as a halfway point between nearby Florida State University and Florida A&M University, allowing students to easily walk from their dorms to the venue.
From R&B nights to homecoming events, this colorful and unique hotspot away from nearby campus was a gathering place for students to party and unwind. However, gun violence had recently occurred nearby.
From 2022: Shooting outside GVO nightclub: 1 dead, 2 seriously injured. Second shot within 10 hours
Some mourned the loss of the building’s 12 murals hand-painted by local artists. “It breaks my heart to think that the murals may go away,” Tallahassee Art Walk founder Don Ruan wrote in a column last August. “The murals add to the quaint character of the All Saints District.” I wrote it.
Kyla A. Sanford covers food and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. Have a new restaurant opening, special sale or event coming up? Let us know at ksanford@tallahassee.com. You can also email us with suggestions for future TLH Eats restaurant profiles.
