Crowbar, an independent Ybor City club, will shutter July 31. Ownership partially blames Live Nation and ticket market dominance along with new 4,300-seat project.
TAMPA, Fla. — Crowbar, a beloved independent concert venue that has anchored the Ybor City music scene for two decades, will permanently close its doors on July 31, according to its ownership.
The impending closure of the 300-capacity club comes amid growing local and national tension over the market dominance of live entertainment giant Live Nation. Tom DeGeorge, the co-owner and general manager of Crowbar, recently testified before Congress to criticize the company, stating that he is fighting for “the little guys.”
Over its 20-year history, Crowbar served as a critical launching pad for local talent and a stop for major touring acts alike.
“Doechii, who grew up here and at one point was here for our open mics just watching and wanting to be a part of the industry, to someone like Kenny Chesney,” DeGeorge said, reflecting on the venue’s legacy. “It’s a huge amount of my life being in this building almost every single day during that time.”
DeGeorge noted that the economic landscape in Ybor City shifted drastically following the pandemic, pointing directly to Live Nation’s business practices as a core reason his stage is going dark.
“They buy complete tours that are in my range,” DeGeorge said. “They’re in the resale market that affects the ticketing that comes in my room, who I can get, who I can work with.”
He added that companies like Live Nation “get deeper and deeper into all the pieces of the pie that are supposed to be shared through the many and create a productive competitive market.”
DeGeorge viewed it as a victory in April when Congress ruled Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit operated “an illegal monopoly.”
Live Nation has denied the monopolistic allegations, countering that artists, sports teams, and venues are the entities that set ticket prices.
The closure comes as Live Nation prepares to significantly expand its footprint in the immediate area. The company is currently developing a new 4,300-seat venue in Ybor City’s Gasworx District alongside the real estate investment firm Kettler.
The project is expected to open in late 2028.
“The venue fills a critical gap between clubs and arenas,” Damian Presiga, senior vice president of development at Kettler said in April. “We feel we can get a great national talent that can add Tampa to the typical tour stops.”
In a statement to 10 Tampa Bay News, Live Nation defended its long-term presence in the region, noting it has been part of Tampa’s entertainment scene since the 1990s. The company pushed back against the idea that its new development inherently harms smaller rooms.
“A 300-capacity club and a 4,300-seat venue serve entirely different audiences at different moments in an artist’s career, and Live Nation has understood that distinction in Tampa for decades,” Live Nation said in the statement. “We have been part of the live entertainment scene here since the 1990s, and our new Ybor City venue reflects our continued investment in this market and its future.”
The company emphasized its reliance on independent grassroots venues to cultivate the industry’s next generation of headliners.
“We want the full live music ecosystem here to thrive because every level feeds the next; small clubs develop the artists who one day fill larger stages, and that’s a pipeline we depend on and actively support nationally,” the company stated.
To highlight its local track record, Live Nation pointed to its 30-year partnership with the independent promoter No Clubs Presents. According to the company, that collaboration has produced more than 1,400 shows at third-party club venues, drawing nearly 2.1 million fans to local stages.
“We want every stage in Tampa to succeed, and our long-term investment in this community reflects our commitment to making that happen,” Live Nation said.
For Crowbar and its patrons, however, the reassurance comes too late. In less than 60 days, one of Tampa’s most intimate musical pipelines will officially go silent.
There is a petition against Live Nation’s venue project with currently close to 10,000 signatures.