Famed Boston Venue Great Scott Reopening In New Allston Location
The legendary live music venue opened in 1976 and hosted many memorable concerts before closing due to the pandemic in 2020.
By Scott Bernstein Jul 31, 2024 • 12:33 pm PDT
Photo of original exterior by Adam Parsall
Boston’s historic rock club Great Scott will get a fresh start at a new location in Allston at 1 Harvard Avenue with 2026 targeted for its reopening. The venue, a staple of the Boston music scene since 1976, was shuttered in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The redevelopment, which also will include Great Scott’s longtime sister club, O’Brien’s Pub, is just two blocks from the original location. Money from a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $300,000 from the community will be used to develop the new space. Great Scott helped launch the career of many of today’s celebrated artists including Phoebe Bridgers, Charli XCX, Orville Peck, MGMT and Jack Harlow.
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The site of the new location was purchased by longtime Great Scott booking manager Carl Lavin, Noannet Group real estate developer Jordan Warshaw and Redefined CEO Paul Armstrong. Existing structures — including the current home of O’Brien’s — will be made into one building that will host both venues along with retail space and much-needed rental housing. The new Great Scott team hopes to break ground late next year.
“Since Great Scott closed four years ago, there has been such an outpouring of support for its reopening, but we live in a difficult economic climate where in the past few years more small venues have closed than have opened,” Lavin explained. “This partnership with Paul and Jordan has enabled us to create an economic model that will not only allow a new Great Scott to be built, but for it to be successful for many more years.”
“The new club will retain the intimacy and feel of the original venue, but with behind-the-scenes improvements such as modern back-of-house facilities and state-of-the-art sound and lighting to attract the best local and touring talent,” the Great Scott team wrote on social media.
The partners feel they will need to devote between six to nine months on permitting and design before it will take approximately 18 months for construction. If all goes to plan Great Scott will return at some point in 2026.
