The Paramount in Huntington celebrates its grand opening Friday, Sept. 30, 2011 (Long Island Press/Jon Sasala)
At long last, it’s what Long Island music fans have been waiting for: Friday night Elvis Costello and the Imposters take the stage at The Paramount for the much-hyped grand opening of the new music hall in downtown Huntington.
The debut concert follows a soft opening Wednesday night featuring the Pittsburgh jam band Rusted Root, which drew fans of their upbeat music and those just eager to get a look at the venue. The 1,500-capacity theater has a contract with Live Nation to draw similarly big-name acts as the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Costello.
“Oh my god, this place is incredible, isn’t it?” Rusted Root singer Michael Glabicki said as he and his band mates took the stage while cast on large-screen televisions on either side of the stage and throughout the bar areas.
The initial slate of shows includes jazz legend B.B. King, indie pioneers the Pixies, country star Willie Nelson, comic Weird Al Yankovic, metal stalwarts Anthrax as well as hometown heroes Brand New and Taking Back Sunday—among many others spanning various genres.
Ticket prices range on average between $26 and $100.
The Paramount is the home of the former nonprofit Inter-Media Arts Center, best known as the IMAC, which closed in 2009 when the operators could no longer maintain the aging building after 26 years in business. The new owners reportedly invested more than $5 million in overhauling the venue.
“We took the theater back to its late 1920s origins when it started out as a two-story vaudeville theater,” one of the owners and music industry veteran, Brian Doyle, told the Press in the week’s cover story, Rock On: The Paramount Opens in Huntington.
Concert-goers this week were pleased with the new look, and not to have to drive to New York City or New Jersey to see some of their favorite bands perform live.
“I go to shows all the time and I have to travel,” Eric Anderson, 28, of Port Jefferson, said from below The Paramount’s bright marquee lights on New York Avenue as he left the venue.
He estimated he’s been to 45 concerts this year, but this was the first on LI. “This place already has a good lineup of so many good bands.”
Doors open at the Costello show at 8 p.m.
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