The Accord, the performance venue in Downtown Champaign at 51 E. Main St. that took over for The Highdive in January 2016, will close its doors on April 30, 2017.
Managing Partner Seth Fein (who is also the Publisher of Smile Politely) released this statement:
“Our time at The Accord was wonderful. Operating a live music venue is not easy, but we’re proud of the work that we’ve done during the time we were part of it. It’s been an honor to partner with a company like CMT Ventures on it, but with the lease coming up for renewal, we’ve decided to focus our attention on growing the scope and impact of The Pygmalion Festival and Smile Politely, which is coming up on its tenth anniversary of publishing this December.”
“The good news is that another live music lover, Rod Sickler, will be taking over the space and re-branding it as 51 Main. Our intentions are to continue operating as independent promoters, so there should be no drop off in great live music in Downtown Champaign, something that we all believe to be a vital component to a cultural experience in any city center. Rod and I have a strong rapport and I was delighted to discover that he was interested in pursuing the project.”
Said Sickler, “We are excited to no end about the opportunity to take over such a legendary and amazing stage in Downtown Champaign. We look forward to working with the promoters who have brought shows to this stage in the past while further developing the live music scene and adding in live theatre performances, piano bar nights, club nights, and so much more.”
“I started independently producing shows in 2002,” said Fein, “and fifteen years later, I still get the same satisfaction when I’m able to bring in top level national talent on the rise through Champaign-Urbana. It remains part of our company’s mission and I am very excited about some of the shows we have on the horizon right now.”
The Accord website remains live through the end of April at www.intheaccord.com and all performances scheduled will go on as planned.
Any inquiries can be directed to info@intheaccord.com.