The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue in the Lower East Side of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even launching of upcoming artists, and its no-frills, rock n' roll presentation. It has made numerous top-ten lists over the years including that of Billboard Magazine. It has a capacity of 250 people. A scholarly account of Mercury Lounge and its place in the wider history of the city's rock music history and Lower Manhattan was published in 2020.

History

The Mercury Lounge was founded in 1993 by Michael Swier, Michael Winsch, and Brian Swier, the three of whom went on to open a string of venues and promotions companies in New York City and Los Angeles. The Mercury Lounge is an independent indie venue to this day, and is known for launching the careers of many talented bands. In 2016, the Mercury Lounge, the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

, and its founders parted ways with promotions company Bowery Presents when it was acquired by AEG. (The Bowery ''Presents'' was cofounded in 2004-05 by Michael Swier, John Moore, Michael Winsch, and Brian Swier in order to promote live shows in open venues.) The Mercury Lounge and The Bowery Ballroom retained their independence and are no longer affiliated with the Bowery Presents and book their own shows. The two clubs have formed joint ventures with Live Nation. The building in which the Mercury Lounge resides has an interesting history. Located at 217 East Houston Street, the space once housed the servants to the Astor mansion on Fifth Avenue, and even connected to it via an underground labyrinth of tunnels. In the early part of the 20th century, Garfein's Restaurant occupied the space, and from 1933 to 1993 the storefront housed a tombstone seller.

Notable acts

In 2000, the New York City band

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

got their start after playing the Mercury Lounge. Ryan Gentles, the Mercury Lounge's booker, quit his job to become the band's manager. Other acts include Radiohead,

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Katy Perry, the

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

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, Palomar,

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Sarah Kinsley Sarah Kinsley (born 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. Throughout her childhood, she performed classical music in youth orchestras and eventually studied music theory at Columbia University, where she began to produce her own alt pop music ...

and

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel ...

. and numerous others.

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control Lower East Side Nightclubs in Manhattan Music venues in Manhattan Music venues completed in 1993 Drinking establishments in Manhattan 1993 establishments in New York City