The Beths at Crowbar, Ybor City, Tampa. By Seán Kinane/WMNF News (21 June 2023).
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Independent Ybor music venue Crowbar is set to close at the end of July.
Local filmmakers are currently creating a documentary, titled “The Man Behind the Crowbar”, capturing the magic of the venue.
Director Donovan Lowe says he got the idea for the documentary after hearing about the closure while attending a show at Crowbar.
“And, just, in my head, I was like, there’s a story here to be told, and I want to be the one to tell it because I have a background in small music, small artists working at college radio, and in documentary from Florida State University,” Lowe told WMNF.
He met the producers of the film while working at the University of South Florida.
They sought to document the venue, which opened in 2006 and is set to close its doors by the end of July, this summer, in part due to rising costs.
Owner Tom DeGeorge spoke out on the importance of small independent venues in Congress last month.
He was as part of a forum on the Department Of Justice’s settlement with controversial Live Nation.
A producer on the film – and former WMNF volunteer – Julia Saad says the venue has a very specific place in Ybor nightlife.
“There’s queer nights, there’s emo nights, there’s indie night. So I think it affects such a broad spectrum of music fans that it’s – we feel like it will really resonate with the audience.” Saad said.
The film is currently in production.
Lowe says they are planning on having a cut of the film done towards the end of fall and start of winter, with goals to get the film on streaming and at film festivals.