It is official. The famed music hall, (yes, yours truly went there a number of times) Hammerjack's, is planning a reopening in Baltimore, very close to its old location, next to the Horseshoe Casino at 1400 Warner Street. There is a new era for Hammerjacks, the legendary South Baltimore nightclub, under the leadership of Hammerjacks Entertainment Group (HEG) Owner and Anne Arundel County resident Kevin Butler, with partner Andy Hotchkiss, announced the venuewill be a huge 48,000-square foot, two-story entertainment complex. The concert hall is slated to open across from M&T Bank Stadium in in time for a New Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31, 2016.
Special guests and dignitaries were in attendance at the red carpet announcement on the $20 million undertaking, including emcee Kirk McEwen of WIYY-FM/98 Rock, added Butler, who began making the trek toward this day when he purchased the rights to the Hammerjacks name and logo for $1,000 four years ago. He was not affiliated with former ownership of the venue.
Lots H and J at M&T Bank Stadium are a tribute to the former Hammerjacks music venue that once stood at its second and most popular location at 1101 S. Howard St. Hammerjacks’ original location was at 1024 S. Charles St. in Federal Hill, the current home of Nobles Bar and Grill, and a later version opened at 316 Guilford Ave. downtown. Butler was unaffiliated with either of the previous three locations, but obtained the rights to the Hammerjacks trademark in 2009 for $1,000.
Hammerjacks’ heyday was from 1987 to 1990 according to Butler when it garnered the title of one of VH1’s Top 5 rock venues. Butler was there for many shows in that era, seeing Guns N’ Roses, The Ramones, L.A. Guns, Warrant, Joan Jett, KIX, and more. “Hammerjacks was so popular that bands like Journey and Def Leppard would hang out there when they were in town for bigger shows,” said Butler. Iron Maiden even had a picture of Hammerjacks in their record sleeve at one point, Butler noted.
The new building will offer more special features than the classic location on South Howard Street, which reached the height of its popularity during the 1980s. Hammerjacks Concert Hall will be a flexible space that will accommodate local, regional and national talent; in addition, it will feature world-class lighting and sound, and will be refined to various sizes for corporate events, business meetings, nonprofit parties, high school reunions and weddings.
Patti Neumann is Publisher/Founder of CITYPEEK.com
& an award-winning 21 C Social Media Publicist/Influencer on food, sips, hospitality & the good life. CITYPEEK.com has its finger on the pulse of what's hot in the world of food, cocktails & travel trends.
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