Strange Matter Announces It Is Closing In December

Well, this sucks. Very sad news for fans of punk and underground music: Strange Matter, formerly the Back Door, Twisters and Nanci Raygun, is closing.

The small and gritty venue at 929 W. Grace Street announced on social media it will be shutting down in mid-December. So many great bands have played there over the decades, from Bruce Springsteen’s early groups to ’90s noise rock legends, the Cows, to current acts such as Kurt Vile, Ty Segall and The Oh Sees.

And that’s to say nothing of the hundreds of local bands who got their start there, or made this a home venue of sorts.

We’ll update with new information when people respond. But for now, this was posted on their social media:

It is with a very heavy heart that after nearly a decade in operation, STRANGE MATTER will be closing the doors at 929 W. Grace Street in mid-December. All good things must come to an end, and the time is now for the owners to start new chapters in their lives and send the business out on a high note. Please respect the privacy of our hard-working staff while everybody processes this in their own way (unless, of course, you’d like to offer them work).

TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS: It has been a pleasure to continue the 929 tradition of showcasing local, regional, national, and international acts of every genre. It’s been a pleasure to feed, inebriate, and provide you, the Richmond creative community, with a place to feel at home, to let loose, or simply to be yourself. It has been a pleasure to forge relationships with many of you on personal levels. It’s humbling how many of you have wanted to have your wedding, reception, company party, anniversary dinners, and birthdays here, as well as the number of you who have met your life partners or your all-time favorite artists here. We wouldn’t trade the last 9 years of experiences for the world and are happy you were here for a part of it.

TO THE BANDS AND ARTISTS WHO PERFORMED HERE: Without you, this pipe dream wouldn’t have made a bit of sense. The creative energy you brought here, the amount of people you familiarized with the space, and the folks who continue to come because they wanted to support you helped keep this place going for what we believe is the third longest stint at 929 W. Grace (behind the legendary Back Door and Twisters incarnations). We can only hope that the building will again be a home for creatives and used for what we feel it should be, but only time will tell. For now, the Richmond music landscape couldn’t be stronger, with more new venues than ever and more killer locals than ever before–please continue to support this community!

SOME FAQs:

-As of Sunday 11/10, we will be opening on limited hours. Bar and kitchen will be open starting at 6pm nightly (unless we have an early show). Our kitchen will be operating on a reduced menu–delivery of this menu will happen only through the Quickness RVA website.

-Our talent buyer of 8 years, Mark Osborne, will still continue to book talent of all varieties in a number of rooms and can still be reached at strangematterbooking@gmail.com for the foreseeable future.

-If you have a show on the books, you should have already gotten an e-mail or phone call explaining the status of your event. If not, you should follow up with the email address in the prior section.

-Our head sound tech JK will still be doing live sound at a number of places around town and can be reached at strangemattersound@gmail.com for the time being.

-If your band has played here a lot and has strong ties to the room, we’d love to include you in the closing month going-out-of-business party series. Please e-mail stangematterbooking@gmail.com with ALL DATES you are available for between 11/15 and 12/13, and we will try our best to get you one final performance here. That being said, please understand that tens of thousands of performances have happened here and we’re gonna fill in as much as we can, but first-serve must be given to those with long-standing relationship with the club and underplays from some of our favorite local and regional acts. Subscribe to our Facebook events to watch the closing series announcements!

-The final event is currently planned for 12/15 with Punks for Presents–make it count!

If you’ve read this far, know that we appreciate you more than a quick closing statement could begin to summarize. Please POST IN THE COMMENTS with your favorite memories of Strange Matter. Let’s make this next month a celebration of life and not a funeral! STRANGE MATTER LOVES YOU!!!

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