In May of this year, Live Nation announced that it would convert Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House on North Broad Street into a new 3,500-capacity concert venue. Now, the venue has announced its first wave of performances, including an opening night celebration headlined by Bob Dylan on Monday, December 3rd.
The schedule at the newly renovated venue, The Met Philly, begins in earnest from there with Weezer, Ween, Lindsey Stirling, WDAS Holiday Jam with Charlie Wilson, PnB Rock, and Kurt Vile & The Violators over the remainder of the month of December with two nights of comedian John Oliver closing out the 2018 lineup on 12/30 and 12/31.
The 2019 lineup at The Met will kick off with Greensky Bluegrass on January 11th, followed by Impractical Jokers starring The Tenderloins on January 19th. In February, comedian Jim Gaffigan (2/9) and Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox will perform at the new venue, followed by James Bay in March, Amos Lee and comedian Brian Regan in April, and Derek Hough in June.
The announcement of The Met’s initial run of shows came this morning in the form of a live-streamed video featuring time-lapse footage of the renovation project. You can watch it below:
[Video: The Met Philly]
The Metropolitan Opera House was built in 1908 by the well-known theater impresario Oscar Hammerstein I—the grandfather of the famed musical librettist Oscar Hammerstein II of the critically acclaimed composing duo, Rodgers and Hammerstein. While the venue was used as an opera house until 1934, the renovation marks the latest evolution of the historic building, which has also been used as a movie theater, a ballroom, a sports venue, and a church in the past.
See below for a full list of upcoming shows at The Met Philly. For more information, head to the venue’s website.