Leaving Fitzgerald’s is a difficult decision for us. Many of us have been there since Day One, and have devoted the past five years of our lives toward creating a venue uniquely dedicated to supporting live music in Houston. We hustled to bring touring acts to Houston, we made free shows part of our identity, we supported local bands as they moved on to bigger things, and we worked tremendously hard to ensure that wonderful memories were being crated every night we opened our doors.
That said, you may be asking, “So, why are you guys leaving?” The short answer is that our lease is up. The long answer is that although part of Fitzgerald’s charm is being a 100-year-old dancehall, as our shows have begun increasing in frequency and scope, the limitations of the building have begun to work against us. Whether relating to noise, comfort, safety, parking, utilities, or even band load-in (try carrying a piano up a flight of stairs), producing the kind of shows that leave our artists happy and our fans inspired has become an increasing challenge.
As previously reported, Fitz’s current sound engineer, Lauren Oakes, will be taking over as general manager of the venue upon Pegstar’s departure. Pegstar says it plans to continue producing shows at a variety of local venues, including Walters, Warehouse Live, Numbers and Rudyard’s, until its new, state-of-the-art White Oak Music Hall opens in the spring of 2016.
The letter, which can be read in its entirety at this link, closes by announcing the lineup of Pegstar’s farewell bash: Wild Moccasins, Buxton (as Talking Heads), the return of the Sideshow Tramps, Young Mammals, ISHI, Telephantom, Night Drive, Bang Bangz, duneTX and Lucas Gorham as Heavin Spacy.
