Originally posted by bunnyman:
3/24 in Baltimore at the Sonar Lounge. Anyone know what this place is like?
Sonar's History & Concept
Sonar began as an idea in Lonnie Fisher's mind in 2000, and was founded in 2001 with partner DJ Lovegrove. The first location was a small lounge in the Canton area of Baltimore. Within a year, Lonnie decided it was time to move on to a more ambitious and larger venue, and Sonar moved to its current downtown location. This building had been in Lonnie's sights since 1998, and in fact, there was an article in the local paper that year with his picture, sitting in the middle of the warehouse, talking about how he was going to turn this building into Baltimore's best night club.
Finally, on October 30, 2002, that became a reality when the new location opened its doors. Sonar existed for two years as a two room, 600 person capacity night club, but with a massive attached garage in which special events would be held from time to time. In March of 2004, now with Lonnie as the sole owner, Sonar acquired the entire building, enclosed the garage and began creating what is intended to become Baltimore's premier music venue. Already, the space has played host to internationally famous DJs, hip hop artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, KRS One and Doug E Fresh, and will soon host a full schedule of all manner of musical genres.
We make no secret about our mission to change Baltimore for the better. Our policies are designed to provide a meeting place for all of Baltimore's diverse people, and we insist and enforce a policy of tolerance at all times. There is no black night, there is no gay night, there is no straight night, no white night, no Hispanic night... if you like the music that is going on, then EVERY NIGHT IS YOUR NIGHT, and that is how we intend to keep it.
As for the name, Sonar fits perfectly for what we are trying to accomplish. Whether it be navy ships or animals, 'sonar' is a mechanism whereby sound is used to locate an object. We named our club Sonar for that same purpose; people will find our venue because of the sound, both the music that we present, and the quality of the sound systems. The sound in our club is one of the best in the country, and once the concert hall is done, we intend for it to be unparalled in Baltimore and beyond.
The other key to Sonar is our staff. Every person in our organization is committed to bringing Baltimore the best club experience we possibly can, and everyone on our staff is involved in music or the arts in some way. While we do our part, we remind everyone that the vibe created in the venue is a partnership between us, the people on stage, and you! We all know Baltimore continues to struggle to become a great city, Sonar is here to help achieve that goal.
Thanks for patronizing our joint.
http://www.sonarlounge.com/
