Jay-Z Reopening NYC’s Webster Hall 4/26
Webster Hall is an historic music venue in New York’s East Village. The building has been hosting concerts under various names and ownerships since 1886, but it’s been closed for renovations since August of 2017, six months after NYC promoters BSE Global and The Bowery Presents acquired its operating rights and assets. The companies recently announced quite a few artists who’ll be performing at the venue when it reopens this spring, which have included some noteworthy names like Patti Smith, MGMT, Rosalía, Sharon Van Etten, Broken Social Scene, Big Thief, Sigrid, and Real Estate — all solid gets. But today comes news of the first show back, and it’s a truly huge one.
Jay-Z will reopen Webster Hall on 4/26, a week from this Friday. The show is billed as B-Sides 2, a sequel to his Tidal-sponsored 2015 B-Sides concert at New York’s Terminal 5. It will be his first time performing at the venue. “When we were thinking about who would be the right choice to open this legendary venue, we knew it had to be a world-famous New York City icon,” BSE Global CEO Brett Yormark said in a press release. “No one fits that description better than JAY-Z, who will join an unparalleled list of celebrated performers who have played Webster Hall.”
The capacity in Webster Hall’s grand ballroom is 1,500. The one time I went to a show there while visiting NYC from Ohio, it was American Football’s reunion tour with S. Carey opening. That’s the scale the venue normally operates at. The chance to see Shawn Carter in that intimate of a space is rare and special. However, it bears noting that just as Webster doesn’t usually host artists as massive as Jay-Z, it also doesn’t usually charge this much for tickets. According to the venue site, prices range from $250 to $399. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 4/19 at 11AM ET, with a limited number available to American Express members on Thursday, 4/18 from 10AM to 10PM. Best of luck, rich Jay-Z fans!