The Stage at Karma is ready for its grand opening
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Having had a month to work out the kinks, The Stage at Karma is ready for prime time.
The colorful new music club, in the former Devils & Dolls on East Carson Street will have its grand opening on Friday night with headliner Starship Mantis.
Appropriately enough, the Pittsburgh jam-funk band had its first rehearsal in the downstairs room at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy, and now former James Street owner Kevin Saftner is curating the music at Karma.
“They’re great musicians and were big supporters of me and my family at James Street,” Mr. Saftner says. “They had their first rehearsal in the Speakeasy on a Monday, when we were closed. They asked if they could rehearse there, and I said, ‘Yeah, it’s my day off, but I’ll allow it for you guys.’ I went down and saw the rehearsal, and I’m a huge fan, so I’m happy to have them be the guys starting it off.”
Mr. Saftner has basically taken the James Street model — a blend of local jam, funk, jazz, rock, soul and other organic styles — and transplanted it from the North Side to the South Side, where owner Mike Papariella has a two-room, multilevel venue with a capacity of 200 in the front barroom and 250-plus in the showcase room.
Karma sent out the call on social media for bands to play there, and the response was rapid.
“We’re already booked until August,” Mr. Saftner says. “It booked up so fast, it’s incredible.”
The core Karma schedule is a Sunday Jazz Session with George Heid III, Open Stage Tuesday, Funk Factory with the Steeltown Horns Wednesday, EDM Thursday and full band shows on Fridays and Saturdays.
There’s no rivalry with the Rex Theater or Diesel one block down as both of those clubs focus on national acts. In fact, Karma and the Rex plan to coordinate after-parties for certain shows.
Merrow will open for Starship Mantis at 9 p.m. Friday ($10), the Saturday night show this week is the 15-piece Afro Yaqui Music Collective at 8 p.m. ($12). Guests can also upgrade to VIP. Karma is at 1713 E. Carson St., South Side. You can find more info on the venue’s Facebook page.