Lexington, KY - 2009: The Dame died for real this year, after struggling for 11 months in a new location several blocks from its original spot on Main Street, which was torn down to make room for CentrePointe. At the same time, several clubs opened. Buster's, once a pool hall next door to the Dame, was reborn in the Distillery District as a music venue with the capacity to host 1,000 at concerts. Bar Lexington, with plans to create a 1980s and 1990s dance scene, opened in the Dame's most recent digs; the Tin Roof, an eatery and live music venue for small groups, opened near the University of Kentucky; and Cosmic Charlie's, with the capacity to host a crowd of 300 and dancing, opened on Woodland Avenue.
In Richmond, Eastern Kentucky University began a two-year construction project to build the Center for the Performing Arts, with a stage large enough to host Broadway shows as well as a more intimate venue for small theatrical productions.
2010: As the new clubs build their audiences, two groups will work toward making Lexington more friendly to live entertainment and thus, a more attractive place for conferences, businesses and young professionals. The Lexington Area Music Alliance wants to strengthen the region's music scene by organizing it. "Our main goal is to keep all these clubs happening, so they exist," said Wil Freebody, the group's organizer.
At the same time, the Downtown Entertainment Task Force, a group authorized by Vice Mayor Jim Gray and headed by Business Lexington Editor Tom Martin, is working to improve the scene on a different level: The group wants to revise Lexington's sound ordinances, end Lexington's liquor license shortage so more clubs can open and create a way to have more all-ages shows to bring young performers and fans into the scene.