Eastern Iowa Music Venue Celebrates 50 Years in Business

Happy 50th birthday to a beloved Iowa City music venue! According to a recent article from the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Gabe's just celebrated half a century in business.

Located at 330 E. Washington Street, Gabe's first opened its doors back in 1974 under a different name. A 2019 article from Little Village Mag says it was initially called Fox and Sam’s, then Gabe & Walker’s a year later. It was eventually shortened to Gabe’s in 1979, but the name was changed again in 2006 to the Picador. It went back to the name Gabe’s in 2010.

Over the last 50 years, Gabe's has seen quite a few big names grace their stage. Iowa Magazine says that pre-fame Nirvana played the venue in 1989 and Smashing Pumpkins were there in 1993. The Black Keys, Flaming Lips, Chance the Rapper, and Macklemore also held concerts at Gabe's before making it big.

Gabe's continues to welcome artists and DJs from all genres in 2024, whether it be downstairs, outside in the beer garden, or up in the main room on the second floor. My first visit to the venue was probably around 8 years ago, when my friends from Michigan were booked to play a set downstairs. My most recent visit was earlier this year, when I tried to relive my youth a little *too* much at Emo Night on the second floor. Despite the epic hangover the next day, we had a BLAST.

Gabe's held their 50th Anniversary Show last Saturday (September 21st), but they have lots of other events on their schedule for 2024, including a Shrek Rave on September 27th. You can check out a full calendar of events at the iconic venue HERE.

By the way, it looks like Gabe's is going to be getting its own documentary later this year! The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that local musician Garret Hinson has teamed up with some other folks to help immortalize the venue. The article reads:

"Filmmaker Tim Hyde has been assisting with videography while Iowa-centric music blogger Mason Fall is interviewing bands that were instrumental to Gabe's history."

They hope to release the doc in late 2024.