The rumors are true! The people who brought you The State Room announced earlier this week that their long-awaited second venue, The Commonwealth Room, will open in a couple weeks. Salt Lake magazine got a sneak peek (with photos!)—and we have info on the first round of shows.
But first, the basics.
- Named after the street directly behind it, the venue is the red barn near the spot best-known as the former K2 Church in South Salt Lake—right next to the Central Pointe Trax stop—195 W. 2100 South.
- It’s expected to have a capacity of about 700, nearly double that of it’s little sister, The State Room.
- Like The State Room, most shows will be general admission, but rather than the split between pews and standing room, The Commonwealth Room has tiered platform areas for standing. There will, on occasion, be seated shows.
- The place is going to remind you of The State Room on steroids. The color scheme is similar, the flow of the room is familiar—with an outside lobby and a long hall leading the the music space—but the stage is a much larger 40×25 ft..
- There’s an outside box office, some limited onsite parking (also, there’s plenty of nearby street parking and again, near the Trax line) and a big ol’ bar—enough to fit four bartenders and additional barbacks to keep things steadily moving.
- Co-Owner Chris Mautz says the new venue will serve as a conduit for bands who have outgrown the State Room’s limited capacity before their next stop at a larger venue—for example, Red Butte Garden—which, coincidentally, Mautz also does the booking for.
Here’s a few photos of the still-under-construction venue.
Mautz says the venue will be “spit shine-ready” for the soft opening on May 5 (yes, Cinco de Mayo, or as we civilized people call it, Derby Day), a free show featuring Sepitonic. And shortly after that, shows start coming rapid-fire.
So, without further ado:
- Opening Night: Free event with Sepitonic, Sat. May 5
- Reckless Kelly, Wed. May 9
- The Young Dubliners, Sat. May 12
- Junior Brown, Fri. June 8
- The Milk Carton Kids, Tues. June 26
- Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Fri. July 13
- James McMurtry, Sat. July 21
- Robert Earl Keen, Sat. Aug. 12
- Punch Brothers, Mon. Aug. 13
- Midge Ure & Paul Young, Wed. Sept. 5
- Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Fri. Sept. 7
- Marcus King Band, Fri. Sept. 14
- Houndmouth, Sat. Sept. 15
- Graham Nash, Thurs. Sept. 27
Tickets go on sale today, there’s a two hour presale for people on The State Room’s mailing list—check your email for that—and general public sales start at noon. Tickets are available on ticketfly.com.
