285 KENT explained

285 KENT was an "underground," all ages concert venue located at 269-289 Kent Avenue, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.[1] The venue was founded and operated by Todd Patrick aka "Todd P", beginning in 2010,[2] ultimately closing in 2014 to much fanfare and media coverage.[3] [4] [5] [6] The venue was initially booked and exclusively managed by Patrick, later in partnership with Ric Leichtung, who created the event promotion entity AdHoc.fm, an offshoot of a music journalism website of the same name, to book the venue.[7]

285 KENT operated under the DIY ethos and hosted acclaimed concerts and events spanning indie, punk, hip hop, electronic music, and other genres.[8] The venue strictly hosted only all ages events at affordable ticket prices.[9] [10] 285 KENT held a standing-room only capacity of approximately 400 persons.[9]

During its relatively brief tenure, Patrick and Leichtung sought to book 285 KENT to expand the community for DIY events beyond its traditional privileged, white, and straight audience;[11] by seeking performances and partnerships with artists and event organizers representing LBGTQ+ communities[12] [13] and people of color.[11] The venue hosted influential events such as the queer youth club night series "TOP 8,"[14] multiple performances by Chicago Footwork pioneer DJ Rashad,[15] Blood Orange,[16] Mykki Blanco,[17] Grimes;[17] and secret shows by artists such as hip hop collective Odd Future,[18] queer R&B artist Frank Ocean,[19] Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky,[20] and others.

Previous to the opening of 285 KENT, the same unit housed the earlier creative spaces Bohemian Grove, a short-lived underground venue for electronic music events (operated by John Barclay who would later open the boutique Bushwick electronic music venue Bossa Nova Civic Club);[21] [17] and Paris London West Nile, a live/work loft and avant music and performance arts venue occupied communally by several artists and musicians.[22]

The Paris London West Nile collective became the first to lease the unit shortly after its creation through partitioning of a larger warehouse, via association with artist and composer Zeljko McMullen, who worked as an artist's assistant to the musician Lou Reed. Reed and McMullen initially scouted the location and negotiated a lease to house a work studio for Reed, with McMullen taking the lease after Reed declined to occupy the space.[23]

The larger warehouse 285 KENT occupied also housed the creative arts venues Death By Audio, Glasslands Gallery, Ran Tea House,[24] Windmill Studios,[25] the Muse,[26] IndieScreen,[27] and the Glasshouse Gallery,[28] among others. The building's community of creative venue spaces were displaced in 2014 and 2015 by Vice Media, who acquired a lease on the majority of the building to house their headquarters.[29] The building was constructed originally as a satellite structure to the historic Domino Sugar Refinery complex, located directly across Kent Avenue to the West.[30]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Indestructible Room: The Story of 285 Kent. Pitchfork.
  2. Web site: Javelin, Future Islands & Liturgy @ 285 Kent Ave (pics). BrooklynVegan.
  3. Web site: A Five-Band Countdown to Goodbye. Jon. Caramanica. January 20, 2014. NYTimes.com.
  4. Web site: Brooklyn Venue 285 Kent Whispered to Close. December 20, 2013. Spin.
  5. Web site: "DIY Will Never Die": An Exit Interview with 285 Kent's Ric Leichtung. January 7, 2014. The Village Voice.
  6. Web site: Why the Closing of 285 Kent Doesn't Matter. www.vice.com.
  7. Web site: Best Promoter of Concerts And Cats. October 19, 2016. The Village Voice.
  8. Web site: The Top DIY Venues In Brooklyn. Chelsea. Baldwin. Culture Trip.
  9. Web site: The Not-So-Secret Reasons 285 Kent Worked. January 22, 2014. The L Magazine.
  10. Web site: Why DIY? Now More Than Ever, Underground Venues Are Crucial. CLRVYNT.
  11. Web site: DIY Venue Owner Todd Patrick: Only the Bourgeois Think NY Is Dead. Joffe. Justin. June 23, 2016. Observer.
  12. Web site: We Saw Hunx and His Punx at 285 Kent. www.vice.com.
  13. Web site: Hunx and his Punx. August 21, 2013.
  14. Web site: RIP 285 Kent, the Last DIY Music Venue I’ll Ever Truly Love. Tom. Hawking. December 20, 2013. Flavorwire.
  15. Web site: Resident Advisor . Following the past weekend's string of farewell events, the Brooklyn venue has ceased operations. Ryce . Andrew . January 21, 2014. 2021-04-25.
  16. Web site: Blood Orange Album Release Party at 285 Kent NYC 11.15.13 [Zumic Review, Photos & Setlist] | Zumic | Music News, Tour Dates, Ticket Presale Info, and More]. November 17, 2013. Zumic.
  17. Web site: Say Goodbye to 285 Kent, Our Last Piece of DIY Williamsburg. Alarcon. Stefa. January 8, 2014. Remezcla.
  18. Web site: Trash Talk & Odd Future brought chaos to 285 Kent after the Tyler, Earl & Frank Ocean shows (pics/video). BrooklynVegan.
  19. Web site: The Final Days of 285 Kent - Deafheaven and Wolf Eyes - 1/18/14. Sherman. Maria. January 20, 2014. The Village Voice.
  20. Web site: The End. David. Shapiro. January 21, 2014. The New Yorker.
  21. Web site: Bossa Nova Civic Club. Ben. Detrick. May 15, 2013. NYTimes.com.
  22. Web site: An Oral History of 285 Kent: 'It Felt Magical and We All Got Wasted'. January 8, 2014. DiBlasi. Loren. Bedford + Bowery.
  23. Web site: Zeljko McMullen, On Deck. Maymind. Leo. March 31, 2014. Interview Magazine.
  24. Web site: Ran Tea House Is Now a Zen Co-Working Space By Day, Venue By Night. Disser. Nicole. July 7, 2015. Bedford + Bowery.
  25. Web site: Windmill Studios NYC. Time Out New York.
  26. Web site: A Guide to the New South Williamsburg -- New York Magazine - Nymag. New York Magazine.
  27. Web site: New ‘Spiders 3D’ Clip! Film Screens In Brooklyn Next Week!. Dickson. Evan. November 28, 2012. Bloody Disgusting.
  28. Web site: FREEwilliamsburg: Event Listings Archives. www.freewilliamsburg.com.
  29. Web site: Vice Media the Driving Force Behind Underground Venue Closures. October 22, 2014. Billboard.
  30. Web site: South 2nd Street Over the Years · Javier Cabrera · Displaced Histories 2016. displacedhistories.hosting.nyu.edu.

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