Wilmington's The Queen to become a Live Nation venue
The world's biggest concert company will take over from the venue which will be known as the Wolrd Cafe Live at the Queen until May 25.
The Queen Theatre in Wilmington, which has been known as the World Cafe Live at the Queen since 2011, is set to be managed by concert promoter Live Nation.
The Market Street venue, whose downstairs theater space holds 800, will have its last show as the WCL at the Queen featuring local Delaware acts on May 25. So far, three shows have been booked by Live Nation, including New Found Glory on July 12, Gene Ween singing the songs of Billy Joel on August 9 and Matthew Sweet on September 21.
The Queen's smaller upstairs stage and restaurant will not be managed by Live Nation, according to the Wilmington News-Journal, which first reported the story. A fuller schedule is expected to be announced for the fall, likely to include a poppier, younger brand of acts than those common at the WCL, whose adult oriented schedule was typically a less busy version of its sister venue in West Philadelphia, which shares a building with University of Pennsylvania radio station WXPN-FM (88.5).
Live Nation did not comment on the frequency with which they will book acts into the Queen. Last week, the concert company, which is the dominant player in the industry, announced, that they are reviving North Broad Street's Metropolitan Opera House, which is set to undergo a $45 million dollar restoration.