Boston, we’re about to see how a legendary dive bar and music venue will be reborn in a fast-changing part of the city. Great Scott is officially returning to Allston, more than four years after unceremoniously closing during the pandemic shutdown.
While the original location has become, perhaps painfully, a boozeless, late-night Taco Bell Cantina, a 300-capacity venue by the name of Great Scott will open elsewhere on Harvard Avenue, at the prominent corner with Cambridge Street, in 2026.
The latest venture comes from Carl Lavin, Great Scott’s longtime booking manager; along with Redefined CEO Paul Armstrong, publisher of Vanyaland and producer of the Boston Music Awards and other music-related ventures; and real estate developer Jordan Warshaw of The Noannet Group. The team purchased the building at 1 Harvard Avenue, which formerly housed Stingray Tattoo. Development plans call for a mixed-use building that will be home not only to Great Scott and its sister venue, the 75-person O’Brien’s Pub; but also to additional retail and rental housing with adequate noise mitigation, according to a press release. Design and permitting of the new venue is expected to take six to nine months, followed by about a year and half of construction, today’s release indicates.
“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,” said Lavin, who spearheaded a crowdfunding campaign after the original Great Scott shuttered, which raised more than $300,000 that will go toward developing this new space.
Since Great Scott closed, the city has felt the loss of the mid-size venue, despite Allston-Brighton area bars like the Silhouette Lounge and Notch Brewing at the Charles River Speedway stepping up to host more live music. The return of Great Scott is poised to bring back “an essential launching pad” for today’s artists: The original venue, which debuted in 1976, saw early performances from Charli XCX, MGMT, Jack Harlow, Phoebe Bridges and more. Its stage was also a rite of passage for bands with Boston ties such as Pile, Clairo, Vundabar and Oompa.
Armstrong’s music management company Redefined will oversee the business aspects of both the new Great Scott and O’Brien’s Pub, including an in-house ticketing system, marketing platform and strategic partnerships to help fill the event calendar and ensure the venues’ successes, according to today’s news.
Local architect firm CambridgeSeven is leading the redesign “as a signature gateway to the heart of Allston,” promising a fusion of “charming, dive-bar vibes of the old place,” with modern innovations, like back-of-house improvements for artist comfort, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting. It remains to be seen how a grungy, gritty dive bar will look in a shiny new build, but we’re looking forward to seeing it.
In the meantime, give @greatscottrock a follow on Instagram (if you're not already following in memory of the original), and stay tuned for the resurrection of one of Allston Rock City's most beloved bygone institutions.
