photo of David Berman at Venue 51's open mic, which takes place Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
story by Sean Holohan | photos by Molly Misek
At the intersection of St. Mary’s and 19th avenues is a building standing like an island, tethered to an old boxing gym on the south side.
Walk through the front door of Venue 51, and you’ll meet a small room anchored by a fireplace on one wall. Its warmth radiates toward a bar on the opposite end. But more than the mustard- and maroon-painted walls, the emerald green ceiling, with theater-like moldings echoing an earlier era, what catches your eye is a newly expanded stage surrounded by stage monitors and lights.
Until August, this building at 1951 St. Mary’s Ave. in Omaha housed a 311 tribute bar called The Hive Lounge. Owners David and Becky Benson purchased the space soon after and renamed it Venue 51, a nod to the address.
photo of Craig Mustard
At that point, the building still had remnants from its previous tenant: old street signs and leftover beer taps. The bar’s stage was barely big enough to fit a solo musician, and there was no sound or lighting systems to speak of.
So last October, after Craig Mustard had shown interest in booking shows, the Bensons decided to hire him as their manager to give the venue a much-needed facelift. Mustard, a former show booker for Louis Bar and Grill and The Bourbon Theatre, began to transform Venue 51.
He extended the bar’s stage by about 4 feet in all directions, and added another level to it. He and his company, Temperature0 Productions, also brought in their own professional-quality sound and lighting setup, including some equipment formerly at Louis Bar, to round out the stage makeover.
Mustard, who was looking for a new bar to place his roots after leaving Louis, says that since meeting with the Bensons, Venue 51 has offered a chance to accomplish his life’s goals and turn the bar into a destination for Omaha musicians.
“I want to help further Nebraska music,” he says. “I want to take care of musicians and I want to foster musicians.”
photo of Becky Benson
Mustard has booked shows at Venue 51 with local acts such as Omaha’s Snake Island! and Rock Paper Dynamite, touring bands like Deadman Flats (Kansas) and The Icarus Account (Florida). The venue, which is open Monday through Saturday, hosts several concerts a week and Mustard says shows have drawn up to 80 people, just short of the 87-person capacity of the bar. It is with this progress that Mustard believes Venue 51 will eventually be mentioned in the same breath as The Waiting Room and Slowdown in conversations about Omaha venues.
Mustard says he wants shows at Venue 51 to be huge, arena rock-like productions in an intimate, small club setting. With the new lighting and sound systems, he says concertgoers can expect to feel like they are a part of the show — no matter where they are in the building.
But most of all, Mustard wants Venue 51 to be an accessible and inviting place where every band wants to play.
“If we do things right, as far as how easy we make it for musicians, people will want to play here,” he says.
Mustard, who plays in the local band Zed Tempo, understands how difficult it is for smaller bands to get the respect of venues and promoters without a large fanbase. Unless they can draw well, venues rarely agree to book them, he says. With Venue 51, he hopes to make the bar a place where bands can easily book shows and play in front of enthusiastic crowds.
In addition to providing a place for musicians to play, Mustard rents out the apartments above the bar for bands to practice and record in. He also plans to let touring bands stay in those apartments while on tour. He says this is all a part of his plan to make Venue 51 a “cultural hub” for aspiring Omaha musicians to cut their teeth and become established acts. Mustard even plans to use his connections around the Midwest to help book tours for bands.
With upcoming shows with bands like Orion Walsh on Friday and Travelling Mercies on Saturday, Venue 51 aims to provide quality music and a variety of genres for Omaha music fans.
And if that is not enough for people to come to shows at Venue 51, Mustard jokes, “We even have really clean bathrooms.”
Upcoming Venue 51 shows:
Friday, Jan. 10 — Orion Walsh
Saturday, Jan. 11 — Travelling Mercies
Monday, Jan. 19 — Zeta June
Friday, Jan. 24 — Stephen Monroe
Saturday, Jan. 25 — Faded
Saturday, Feb. 8 — Dirty River Ramblers
Sean Holohan is Hear Nebraska’s editorial intern. He loves what Venue 51 has done with the place and can’t wait to see a show there. Reach him at seanh@hearnebraska.org.