Courtesy Wild Birds
Wild Birds, a 2-year-old music venue in Prospect Heights, is closing
The sudden closing of the establishment on the edge of Prospect Heights is a blow to the neighborhood's live music offerings
Wild Birds, a venue and bar in Prospect Heights, announced over the weekend that it will be soon closing its doors.
Calling the news “sad and sudden,” Wild Birds thanked the musicians, staff and guests that visited the 2,00o-square foot venue over the past couple of years. Its final date of performances is set for Monday, September 5.
C0-owners Julian Klepper and Luke Bonner opened Wild Birds — a musician’s music venue — with an aim to spotlight global music and feature local artists. The venue didn’t charge a cover or bar minimums, rather encouraged donations to the bands playing.
“I’m incredibly proud and grateful” for the run Wild Bids had, Klepper told Brooklyn Magazine, without elaborating on details behind the closure.
“Your smiles and laughter and ecstatic movement turned this place into a home. You made our dream take flight,” Wild Birds said on Instagram over the weekend. “Every day we opened our doors to you, and you in turn made every night a blessing.”
However, Wild Birds added that “this is not the end.” The venue promises to keep its Instagram followers alert about how it “will rise again, like the phoenix.”
The post concludes: “Until then: We hope we can see you in the weeks to come. And even if we don’t: We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for nesting down with us at Dean and Classon. We love you. It was unforgettable.”
Originally scheduled to open in March 2020, the pandemic delayed Klepper and Bonner’s plans. By July 2020, Wild Birds partially opened to a pandemic-fatigued community by hosting outdoors performances on its large sidewalk.
Other problems also arose that made it difficult to survive, including financial issues over construction costs. However, he remained optimistic telling Brooklyn Magazine in June that “I’ll never take it for granted.”
Wild Birds joins the Knitting Factory, which held is last concert Sunday night, in shutting down unexpectedly.
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