Guild Theatre becomes concert hall

MENLO PARK >> The Guild Theatre, a once-popular movie palace in Menlo Park that closed its doors in 2019 after a 93-year run, is set to reopen as a concert venue.

The newly remodeled 500-plus-capacity theater, located at 949 El Camino Real, will begin hosting shows in mid-January.

The venue has just announced its first batch of concerts, stretching into October 2022. The complete list is shown below.

Tickets for all announced gigs go on sale at 12 noon Dec. 1 at guildtheatre.com.

Built in 1926, the Guild is now owned and operated by the nonprofit Peninsula Arts Guild and has an exclusive partnership with ticket platform DICE.

“We’re thrilled to see the project finally come to fruition,” says Peninsula Arts Guild president Drew Dunlevie. “We started the nonprofit four years ago with the simple goal of bringing some entertainment and culture to an underserved market here in the mid-Peninsula. We also look forward to supporting many artists’ philanthropic endeavors. We like to say we’re solving for fun and good.”

Upgrades to the venue include a Meyer Sound system that was specifically designed for the room.

The general manager for the venue is Tom Bailey, who has a long history of working at venues in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Notably, he was the general manager at Port Chester, N.Y.,’s 95-yearold Capitol Theatre.

“The Guild Theatre will be a first-rate venue in all respects, from state-of-theart sound and lights, to a unique, stylish, and spacious ‘green room’ setup for our talent, to top-quality beverage options (at reasonable prices!) for our patrons,” Bailey says. “We intend to make Menlo Park a nightlife destination with great live music, and hope to become a cornerstone of this community.”

Here’s the list of scheduled shows:

Jan. 18: STRFKR

Jan. 26: Son Volt

Jan. 29: Molly Tuttle Feb. 5: Superblue: Kurt Elling with Charlie Hunter Feb. 6-7: Three Dog Night Feb. 16: Aaron Lee Tasjan Feb. 18: The Samples Feb. 19: Berlin

Feb. 25: Robert Glasper Feb. 27: Eric Krasno + Son Little (Backed by the Sweet Sounds of the Assembly

March 1: Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Dance Party with the Jazz Mafia March 4: Low Cut Connie March 26: The Blasters March 31: Sarah Shook and the Disarmers

April 4: Steve Gunn and Jeff Parker

April 13: Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives

April 15: Orgone April 29: Tennessee Jet May 24: The Dip

July 23: The Mother Hips Oct. 21-22: Rocky Horror Picture Show (live), featuring The Bawdy Caste.