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Concertgoers injured as ceiling collapses during First Avenue rock show in Minneapolis


A Minnesota music venue was evacuated last night after part of a ceiling collapsed during a show by Theory of a Deadman. According to news reports, debris from a 30-by-30-foot section of ceiling fell from downtown Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue around 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday, sending at least three in attendance to nearby Hennepin County Medical Center.

Video of the collapse can be seen below.

Opened in 1970, First Avenue is considered a local landmark and is featured prominently in Prince’s Purple Rain. Recently, Rolling Stone listed the 1500-person club (which also features a 250-person smaller club called The Entry) at Number 3 on its “Best Big Rooms in America” roundup, and Minnesota bands like Husker Du, The Replacements and Soul Asylum played there early in their careers.

More on the ceiling collapse from arts weekly City Pages:

First Avenue and the adjoining 7th Street Entry and Depot Tavern were evacuated as a precaution, [First Avenue General Manager Nate] Kranz confirms, citing broken sprinkler pipes. Local bands What Tyrants and Stereo Confession were performing in the Entry.

While he did not know the extent of the injuries, a “shocked” Kranz reports injured concertgoers sustained “cuts and bruises” and were conscious as they exited the venue.

“We don’t know how this could have happened, but obviously we’ll have people out here tomorrow to survey the extent of the damage and how it came be,” he says, adding that the venue is “anxious to find what happened and what we need to do to fix it.”

The venue has cancelled its shows for tonight and Friday, and remains closed indefinitely, according to City Pages.

More to come.