The Atlantis will be located adjacent to the current 9:30 location, at the same address of the former Satellite Room. That building has been torn down and a new one has been erected.
Crews on Wednesday were seen working at the site.
(It wasn’t clear from the street whether the hallway in the new venue will hark back to the long hallway at the old club on F Street that was frequently plastered with flyers for upcoming shows)
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl first announced plans to resurrect the old club at the end of a surprise concert in D.C. in September 2021, in the popular venue’s first show after the pandemic.
The old 9:30 club was long considered the “CBGB of D.C.”, playing host to a roster of punk and rock greats in the early days of their careers.
“That’s where we all played first,” Grohl said in 2021. “That’s where REM played first. That’s where the [Red Hot] Chili Peppers played first. That’s where Nirvana played first.”
With a persistent smell and a crooked stage, it wasn’t the most luxurious of digs, but “magic happened in that room,” Grohl said.
Shortly after Grohl announced the near-replica club would be built, a spokeswoman for I. M. P, which owns the 9:30 Club, said, “While the new club promises to look just like the original, it will not have the notorious stench nor the huge and plentiful rats that old-school patrons so fondly recall.”
Since Grohl’s surprise announcement, clues have been trickling in from social media.
Recently, social media accounts for The Atlantis have appeared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the new venue already has a website.
A March 22 Twitter post includes a picture with what appears to be the club’s new logo.
“On May 30, 1980, the original 9:30 Club opened. Before that, the venue was called … The Atlantis,” the post said, followed by the phrase “Where Music Begins.”
It’s not clear from the social media postings who will be giving the debut performance in the new venue.
The D.C. blog PoPville first reported the new club’s expected opening.
![<p>“That’s where we all played first,” Grohl said in 2021. “That’s where REM played first. That’s where the [Red Hot] Chili Peppers played first. That’s where Nirvana played first.”</p>
<p>With a persistent smell and a crooked stage, it wasn’t the most luxurious of digs, but “magic happened in that room,” Grohl said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/032923_930_1.jpg)
