It feels Great to write, it feels Great to read, it feels Great to say: Great Scott is back.
The beloved and unfairly shuttered Boston rock club is retuning to its familiar Allston neighborhood, unveiling plans for a new shared mixed-use live music venue, retail, and housing complex with sister venue O’Brien’s Pub. Set to open in 2026, the space will be located at the busy corner of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street, redeveloping the current building that houses O’Brien’s and the former Stringray Body Art.
The original Great Scott, located at 1222 Commonwealth Ave. since 1976 and a vital part of the Boston music scene since the early 2000s, closed in May 2020 during the pandemic over a dispute with its landlord. After three years of dormancy, a Taco Bell Cantina opened up last year in its place.
The team behind resurrecting Great Scott and securing its longterm future by purchasing the building that will host the new venues include longtime booking agent Carl Lavin; Redefined CEO and Vanyaland publisher Paul Armstrong; and local real estate developer Jordan Warshaw of The Noannet Group, known recently for the development of the Raffles Boston hotel. Great Scott will operate with a 300-person capacity, while a shifted O’Brien’s Pub will hold 75.
Shortly after the original Great Scott shuttered, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to help the venue find a new home. It gathered more than 25,000 signatures and raised more than $300,000. The money raised by the community is earmarked towards developing the new space, designed by local architects CambridgeSeven. Up next is the permitting and design process, slated to take up to nine months, in which O’Brien’s, which was also purchased by the Great Scott team, will remain open for live music, followed by an 18-month construction timeline that will close both venues for the overall building renovation.
“Since Great Scott closed four years ago, there has been such an outpouring of support for its reopening, but we live in a difficult economic climate where in the past few years more small venues have closed than have opened,” says Lavin. “This partnership with Paul and Jordan has enabled us to create an economic model that will not only allow a new Great Scott to be built, but for it to be successful for many more years.”
The list of notable bands and artists that played the original Great Scott stage is long and plentiful, from Charli XCX, Phobe Bridgers, and MGMT to local risers Clairo, Vundabar, and Oompa.
True to form, the new Great Scott will feature a mix of local and national acts, as well as dance nights, comedy showcases, and other arts and culture events that tie in to the community. The space will aim to recapture its dive bar charm and gritty Allston persona, while updating amenities such as modern back-of-house improvements for artist comfort, like private green rooms, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting. Redefined will handle business aspects of the clubs, including developing an in-house ticketing system and marketing platform.
The Allston corner of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street, located just two blocks from Great Scott’s original location near the Brookline border, is undergoing a transformation, with new housing projects planned and a new restaurant filling the Pizzeria Regina spot, which Great Scott was at one point negotiating for potential use. The new Great Scott will protect against neighborhood complaints — often an issue at the old spot by the tenants in the building above it — by installing noise mitigation measures to provide comfort and quiet for nearby residents. It will also offer artist residences and other unique uses of the space.
In recent days, Great Scott has been teasing its return on social media. Hit the post below to follow along for more news and updates, and revisit our ongoing and extensive coverage of Great Scott’s path to resurrection.