Black Party 2014 Will Be At Roseland

Just yesterday I mentioned that the Saint-At-Large hadn't yet revealed if the Black Party would return to the Roseland before it closes on April 1st. I spoke too soon.

NEW YORK CITY: Roseland Ballroom To Close With Four Lady Gaga Concerts

As I noted last month, the legendary Roseland Ballroom will close in the spring.  Here are the details for the final days:

Lady Gaga plans to play four shows at the 3,500-capacity venue: Mar. 28, 30, 31 and Apr. 2. Tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 25, at 10 a.m. Prices range from $50 for general admission floor access to $200 for the mezzanine. Roseland has operated at various times in the city since it opened in 1919, in a space located right around the corner from its current location on 52nd St., west of Broadway. The ballroom ascended with the upswing of jazz in the ‘20s and ‘30s, hosting shows by Louis Armstrong, Count Basie (who had a song called “Roseland Shuffle”), Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller.

The Saint-At-Large has thus far remained silent as to the future of the Black Party, which is traditionally held on the first Saturday after the vernal equinox. That would be March 22nd.

Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom To Close

The legendary Roseland Ballroom, home to the Saint-At-Large Black Party for more than two decades, will reportedly close in April. Via Billboard Magazine:

Evolving from ballroom dancing in the ‘20s to popular music, Roseland has for years been a favored New York play for a wide range of bands from the early days of rock, through disco, grunge, modern rock, jam, pop, urban and EDM. The venue found a new gear with a $1 million production/rigging renovation in the early ‘90s, funded by Ginsberg, which led to more high profile bookings of multiple dates on bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and other hot acts when competition in that cap range was not as fierce. The room sits its in a sweet spot in terms of capacity at about 3,500, just right for developing bands climbing up the venue ladder as well as bigger bands, including the likes of the Rolling Stones, Madonna and Radiohead, that want to create buzz with an underplay. But its capacity is also a highly competitive space in the market, with AEG’s Best Buy Theater at about 2,500, Live Nation’s 3,500-cap Hammerstein Ballroom, Bowery Presents Terminal 5 at 3,000 cap, and the 2,800-cap Beacon Theatre, operated by Madison Square Garden. Still, Roseland remains a busy room, and one artists and agents prefer in many cases, so the move to close is likely related more to property values than the venue’s bottom line.

As Billboard notes, there are several similarly sized venues in Manhattan, including one not far from the Roseland in Times Square, but it will be interesting to see if any are willing to take on as colorful an event as the Black Party. Next year's event may be safe, as the Black Party takes place in late March. Broadway Cares' wildly popular Broadway Bares AIDS fundraiser, however, takes place in late June. (Tipped by JMG reader Rod)

RELATED: Here's a very short clip I took at the Black Party in 2006. Audio is lousy as I was right over a speaker.