page_title: Tabernacle (concert hall)
section_title: House of Blues (1996–97)
hierarchical_section_title: Tabernacle (concert hall) / History / House of Blues (1996–97)
caption_attribution_description: A nice wide view of the Tabernacle from the middle balcony
context_page_description: The Tabernacle is a mid-size concert hall located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Opening in 1911 as a church, the building was converted into a music venue in 1996. It is owned and managed by concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment and has a capacity of 2,600 people.
  Since its rebranding, many notable acts performed at the venue, including: Guns N' Roses, The Black Crowes, Adele, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Robbie Williams, Alice in Chains, Bob Dylan, Prince & The New Power Generation, Lana del Rey and Atlanta's own Mastodon, and Blackberry Smoke.
  Along with music concerts, the venue also holds many comedy tours annually including Bob Saget, Lisa Lampanelli, Cheech & Chong and Stephen Lynch.
context_section_description: At least two different teams attempted to develop the building as a venue for the Olympics with little success. As the event approached, it looked for a time that no deal would come together.  Then, in April 1996, Isaac Tigrett visited Atlanta with other investors and cut a deal to open a House of Blues in the building in time for the Olympics.  Prior to this, Atlanta had not been a planned expansion location for House of Blues. Tigrett gave his partner Lance Sterling the go-ahead for the project with only 45 days available, even after Sterling had told him even 60 days was too short a time.  Despite this short lead time, the venue was ready when the Olympics opened in July 1996.
  The first act to perform (on July 19 & 20) was The Blues Brothers (with Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi and John Goodman)' along with featured performers such as James Cotton, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Eddie Floyd, Tommy "Pipes" McDonald, Billy Boy Arnold and Paul Shaffer. Other well-known performers during the Olympic run included James Brown, Johnny Cash, Al Green and Jerry Lee Lewis. Lesser-known acts who appeared included Burning Spear, Johnny Clegg and Juluka, Third World, Tito Puente and His Latin Jazz All-Stars, and Celia Cruz. At the close of the Olympics, Bob Dylan performed two shows on August 3 & 4.
  Civic leaders in Atlanta had high hopes that House of Blues would continue as a permanent downtown attraction, especially when the lease was extended through January 1997. But immediately after the Olympics were finished, word came that it would shut down. Efforts were launched to convince Tigrett to continue in Atlanta, but the local investment money he insisted upon ($4 million by some accounts) could not be found.
  Some concerts were held at the venue under the House of Blues name beginning in 1997 through the efforts of Lance Sterling.  The trial run began on Wednesday, November 12, 1997, with a concert by Hall & Oates. House of Blues ended its relationship with Atlanta when its lease expired for the last time in January 1998.  City leaders continued negotiations with Sterling, who said "This is the premier venue in the Southeast.  I am personally committed to making downtown Atlanta a venue, and I'm calling everybody I know to make this happen."
caption: The stage
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