This April, music lovers said farewell to a landmark that has been a staple in the Regina since 2001.
The Revival Music Room was a live music venue that gave both up and coming artists and touring bands the opportunity to share their music with the city. Revival’s former owner Rick Krieger made the announcement in a Facebook post.
Many were devastated to hear the venue close its doors, but their hope would be restore in just a few short months.
WATCH: Revival Music Room reopens
On the Labour Day weekend, the Revival Music Room reopened under the new ownership of Jason Gervais. He had performed and worked at the venue for 15 years.
When he was approached with the idea to buy the business he thought “the Revival Music Room had a lot of potential.” After taking ownership on Aug. 15, he only had a few weeks to get everything in order for the reopening.
“Hiring people, ordering the products, there was so much. There was a lot crammed into a couple weeks,” he said.
With the help of his staff and former employees, the reopening of the Revival Music Room was a success. Over Labour Day weekend, over 900 people showed up to revive the revival; they were at capacity almost every night.
He said that during the events “people were very excited that the place had reopened. I had several people come up and shake my hand and comment and said that we are here to support. We wouldn’t want to see this place go away again.”
The successful opening was a well-needed boost of confidence for Gervais. With the growth of technology and the vast entertainment options available to be people now, he’s saw the live music industry lose its popularity over the years.
“It was definitely a lot busier before. We used to see the bigger capacity bars and they were full all the time.”
He believes the adapting with the times and diversifying is the key to making live music relevant again. When booking performers, he hopes to host artists of all genres, both up and coming artists and well-known bands.
The Revival stage is also getting an upgrade with the addition of 10-foot LED walls and HD TVs.
Gervais said, “I try to come up with new ideas that will still draw people out. I think diversification is the way to do that.”
The venue will have full access to it’s parking three times a year, allowing them to host large outdoor festivals and events.
The Revival Music Room is currently open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights. It hopes to extend it’s hours and dates in the near future.
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