Sacramento's Beloved Torch Club Reopens for Live Music Post-Pandemic
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- One of Sacramento's most beloved live music venues has reopened after its long pandemic shutdown.
Musicians are back on stage at The Torch Club, playing to joyful crowds. A shoulder-to-shoulder crowd hit the dance floor Thursday for local band, Mind X.
"Oh, the energy inside this room is really special," drummer Bruce Spencer said. "It's great to play inside again."
It is a celebration of sound, and the impact was easy to see by the wide smiles and hugs of people embracing inside.
Marina Texeira is the owner of the Torch Club.
"Pretty much exactly how I remembered it," Texeira said of Thursday night. "Yeah, it was really a surprise. It's almost like everything's back to normal."
Texeira opened her doors again for the first time in 15 months.
The crowded scene stood in stark contrast to Christmastime at The Torch Club.
During COVID, musicians played to an eerily empty room, and Texeira posted the videos online.
"Very surreal for sure," Texeira said. "Not the same."
That was then. Now, she is reuniting with her regulars.
"Most I have not seen, and many I have not seen longer," Texeira said.
No one there has skipped a beat.
"It's like we never were closed," Texeira said.
The Torch Club has hired back all of its employees for the reopening.
The venue first opened in Sacramento in 1934.