Birmingham’s Cave 9 Closes Its Doors
In this town, we have all seen our share of clubs and venues come and go. Unfortunately on this dreary Monday morning, I am sad to report that Cave 9 has closed.
Cave 9 was a non-profit, completely volunteer-run club that focused on DIY punk and indie shows. The club was a true supporter of the independent music scene in Birmingham, working to host any promising act and independent collaborations such as Awesomefest. Ask any of Cave 9’s devoted fans, and they would tell you about the great shows that were going on there.
One of the great things about Cave 9, however, was that it was an all-ages venue — it was truly a place for anyone to enjoy a great punk rock or indie show. This was especially true for the underage set — a group limited in the shows they could see, and also a group desperately seeking anything newer and fresher than the traditional top-40.
Unfortunately, according to their website, although Cave 9 qualified as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization by the US government, they made a mistake in interpreting state and federal laws. According to the state, some of what they did was taxable, and they wound up owing back taxes. Additionally, their venue on Magnolia and 23rd was running into crime problems. They tried to move the shows to Greencup Books, and then to 1st avenue south. To make matters worse, they ran into trouble with the fire marshal because of complaints from neighboring businesses — “get these kids off my lawn!” Finally, a cease and desist letter arrived from the mayor’s office threatening arrest if there were any more shows. We all know Larry Langford is a fine, upstanding citizen. Perhaps if Cave 9 was part of the ‘zoo expansion’, Langford would’ve liked them.
Therefore, Cave 9 has decided to close its doors. This is a sad day for the Birmingham music community. Hopefully someone will realize that people of ALL AGES need to experience great independent music, and pick up where Cave 9 left off.
More information can be found @ bham[dot]fm.
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I’m not the biggest fan of punk rock but this really makes me sad.
it’s ok though, teenagers won’t give up that easy
I was never a fan of Cave 9, I have never been. But after reading this and realizing how cool the whole idea was, it really saddens me too. This sucks.
This makes me sad. I went there so much in high school. And I noticed that there was never anything there anymore. Sad day indeed.
I’ve been to a few shows there and always enjoyed myself. It sucks that the nonprofit thing got them, it actually gets alot of places like that. I wasn’t happy when I saw the doors were permanently shut. Cave 9 was no CBGB, but it was still Bham’s own thing.
That’s a damn shame.
WHAT do we do now? I may also love Bottletree but the effect is not quite the same.
they didn’t totally close, they just moved to northside.
i mean first avenue south. they have a lot of shows coming up too