June 22, 2021
We know the last 15 months have been extraordinarily difficult for you. They have been difficult for us too and we are tremendously grateful for the kind words and support we've received from artists and fans during this calamity.
Back in 2017, after 10 years of presenting concerts and festivals at several wonderful venues, we poured every ounce of heart, soul and energy we could muster into creating our vision of an intimate, elegant listening room at 9 Wallis in Beverly. After three glorious years of extremely hard work, we reveled in our success welcoming you to sold-out shows featuring Grammy-winners, Rock Hall of Famers and blues legends from around the world.
In March 2020, when we were ordered to close 9 Wallis, we (like many of you) expected it would only be for a few weeks at most. We invited some of our friends, who live close by, to perform solo at 9 Wallis and they jumped at the chance to share their music (and comedy) with you for FREE [SEE HERE in case you missed them]. And we produced a FREE concert film featuring Honey Talk, Boston's hottest roots-rock band.
Upon realizing the closure would be much longer than expected, we answered the call to pivot and, in the summer of 2020, we booked 21 stellar artists for our drive-in concerts presented in a safe, socially distanced 100,000 sq. ft. lot in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Sadly, the town shut us down after only 9 shows.
For the past year, we have been scrambling to be ready to reopen 9 Wallis when the time comes. Unfortunately, too many factors have conspired to make reopening impossible. With no revenue from 9 Wallis for 15 months and a substantial loss from having our drive-in shows shut down, we are no longer in a position to continue pouring our own money into the venue. Given considerable re-opening expenses, combined with the fact that our 9 Wallis landlord refuses to forgive any rent, we simply do not have the money to reopen. More importantly, we no longer have enough assets to weather the enormous risks inherent in operating 9 Wallis.
But...we still love music! We love the artists and the fans who support them. We've already announced some new shows [see here] and we continue to work with several Boston area venues to host as many of our 9 Wallis shows as possible. You can use the tickets and gift certificates you have as credit for any of our future shows. Look for more show announcements in the coming weeks.
Thank you for being a true supporter of live music.
Vickie, Peter and John Van Ness