Baltimore music venue 8x10 escapes permanent closure with new management, ownership

The Baltimore music venue 8x10 will avoid permanent closure with new ownership and management set to maintain its legacy. 

The venue, located in Baltimore's Federal Hill nightlife district, was initially scheduled to close at the end of June after its final shows.

"We have happily spent the last 20 years serving the music community of Baltimore, even extending our lease in hopes of finding a new owner to carry on the live music tradition in Federal Hill," the owners of the venue said in announcing its closure in January. 

The 8x10 is currently owned by Abigail Janssens and Brian Shupe. 

Now, the 300-capacity, independent venue will temporarily shut down, with plans to reopen in October under musician Cris Jacobs, a Baltimore native, and Rising Sun Presents, an event production company based in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. 

The new leaders said they will spend the summer building their team, making improvements to the venue and planning their grand reopening. 

"We thank Abigail Janssens and Brian Shupe for their dedicated ownership over the last 21 years, and we wish them well in their retirement!" Rising Sun Presents said in a social media post.   

According to the Johns Hopkins University student newspaper, News-Letter, the 8x10 opened in 1983 and underwent a major renovation in 2003.