The summer ended with bad news for live music lovers: after 25 years, the South Side’s Club Cafe announced that it will close at the end of 2024. Owner Michael Sanders wrote in the press release announcing the closure, “It felt like the perfect time to move on to other endeavors.”“It was time to concentrate on other aspects of my business,” including Opus One Productions and Margaux, the cafe and bar in East Liberty, Sanders wrote in an email. He denied that the closing had anything to do with a perception that South Side has become more dangerous. “We serviced the community, the artists and the wider music scene the best we could,” Sanders wrote.Reaction has been swift and emotional. Bill Deasy, a fixture on the Pittsburgh music scene for over 25 years, both as part of The Gathering Field and as a solo artist, says Club Cafe was his “home base” for years.“I have had many magical musical memories there and will forever be grateful,” he says. Deasy’s not sure whether his annual Boxing Day concert on Dec. 26 will be scheduled. “That’s something I will really miss.”Nostalgia blended with sadness on social media as locals heard the news. “(There were) so many nights on that stage when I swear something holy was happening,” Amy Wellock Staggs, a former club employee, posted on Facebook. In a subsequent conversation, Staggs recalls hosting now bigtime performers including Tegan and Sara, the Dresden Dolls, Sufjan Stevens and Damien Rice at Club Cafe in the mid-2000s. “Sometimes we’d take them over to the Beehive,” Staggs says. “South Side was really bustling at the time.”Club Cafe “had a very personal vibe,” she adds. “We exchanged a kind of edginess for a warmer tone.”The crowd at Club Cafe on Sept. 5, 2024. Photo courtesy of Club Cafe. Staggs worked with Marco and Paula Cardamone, part of the partnership that opened Club Cafe in 1999 and sold it to Sanders in 2011. Marco Cardamone says he’s “not really surprised” by Sanders’ decision: “All things have their cycles.”As longtime patrons might remember, the Y2K Club Cafe was more than a live music venue. Cardamone and partners set up high-quality remote-controlled video cameras to record and edit performances and post them online. But “we were just too early,” Cardamone conceded — they had limited, dial-up internet access. “This was pre-social media and pre-YouTube. We were ahead of the curve.”So they got creative: KDKA broadcast a half-hour version of “Live at Club Cafe” on Friday nights in the spring of 2005. “Then if (viewers) wanted to see more in-depth content, they’d cruise over to the Club Cafe Comcast channel,” says Cardamone. The project was abandoned by the end of 2005. “We were on the bleeding edge for sure,” Cardamone says. “And we have the wounds to prove it.”Cardamone posted some treasures on the website of his current venture, Merging Media Inc. The Club Cafe page features great background on the early days of the club, as well as clips from vintage performances by Jesse Malin, Chuck Prophet, Lisa Loeb and many others. Cardamone has his memories as well. When Tori Amos arrived for her show in March 2003, “We were told, ‘you can’t look at her directly in the eyes,’” he remembers. “She was very nervous,” Cardamone says, but she put on a “mesmerizing” show.Then there’s the night John Mayer played for 10 people in February 2001. He was supposed to open for Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, but Phillips became ill and Mayer played for the entire evening: “He was amazing. We had no idea,” says Cardamone. Mayer’s first album, “Room For Squares,” was released three months later and sold more than 4 million copies.   Rhett Miller played Club Cafe in July 2024. Photo courtesy of Marie Popichak.In addition to the rising megastars and local acts, many midrange touring artists have made Club Cafe a regular stop over the years, including Rhett Miller, Ellis Paul, Rachael Yamagata and others. Boston-based singer-songwriter Chris Trapper estimates he’s played Club Cafe at least 15 times, first with his band The Push Stars and then as a solo artist. “I’m bummed it’s closing,” Trapper says. “I’d fantasize that I was a jazz singer in there. It felt sophisticated.” He recalls that in 2006, he was asked to submit a song for a new sitcom, “Pepper Dennis,” starring Rebecca Romijn. When he went to Los Angeles after his song was accepted, Trapper asked the executive producer, Pittsburgh native Gretchen Berg, how she had heard of him. “She said she had seen me at Club Cafe.“It was a rare find,” Trapper says. “And they had great sound people.”What’s next for the space on 12th Street near Carson? Pittsburgh’s Office of Nighttime Economy works with business owners and the city to ensure a safe, vibrant nightlife. Its director, Allison Harnden, says the venue’s closure is a “sad occasion,” but “there’s certainly no shortage of entrepreneurs and creatives out there who agree that Club Cafe is a unique gem. My hope is that one of them will scoop it up, polish it and continue its legacy.”Sanders promises a “proper sendoff” for Club Cafe. He says they’re lining up a series of shows in December and possibly early January, “trying to focus on local music and some of the acts that meant so much to us.” A few shows already booked for January will be relocated to Mr. Smalls Funhouse. Sanders says he intends to sell the cafe and the building in the next few months.Low Cut Connie has played Club Cafe several times over the years. Photo courtesy of Marie Popichak.Our favorite shows Annette Bassett I’ve seen at least 40 shows at Club Cafe. It is by far my favorite venue in the city. To have it cease to be? I am bereft. I’ve had so many wonderful nights there. Just a few highlights:Sondre Lerche looking surprised and delighted when the young women in the crowd sang the “girl’s part” of his song, “Modern Nature,” back to him. (November 2011)A sold-out show with Frank Black of the Pixies. (February 2012)Dave and Phil Alvin, founders of The Blasters, putting aside brotherly disagreements to sing and play some blues. (March 2015)That time in April 2016 when I saw three shows in four nights: Rhett Miller on Thursday, Alan Doyle (formerly of Great Big Sea) on Saturday, and Parker Millsap on Sunday. The Sunday show was sold-out, but the door guy let me in anyway “because you’re always here.” Score!Seeing my favorite band (Los Lobos) in a much more intimate venue than they’re accustomed to, thanks to a WYEP-FM benefit performance. (January 2018) But when I look at my list, one show — actually a few moments in one show — comes to mind. It was November 2018, in the middle of a sad and stressful time. I think I almost didn’t go. But near the back of the crowd at a sold-out James McMurtry concert, as his near-perfect sad and beautiful songs washed over me, I closed my eyes and felt the healing begin. Transcendence: that’s what I could find at Club Cafe. Jennifer Baron Events & Jobs Editor After the closing of the Beehive (where I grew up going) in 2019, the announcement of Club Cafe closing is another major loss for the city that sent shock waves through the local music community. As both a musician and a music fan, I find Club Cafe — with its iconic Art Deco facade and sparkly stage backdrop — provides a distinctly intimate experience with a fantastic top-notch sound system. Whether on stage or in the audience, you truly feel a sense of communing with other people.The Garment District and Dressy Bessy outside of Club Cafe. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Baron.I have loved performing with my current band, The Garment District, opening for our friends Dressy Bessy from Denver, and also having the chance to see bands from around the world, such as Japanese psychedelic/space/noise rock legends, Acid Mothers Temple, and many more. Thank you for the music, Club Cafe.The post Saying goodbye to Club Cafe after 25 will be so hard appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.