Ace of Spades owners take over The Boardwalk

We’ve all known for a while now that Ace of Spades owners Eric Rushing and Bret Bair have been searching for a complement to their flagship live music venue, ditching management posts at Assembly Music Hall and eyeing Witch Room in the process. Submerge Magazine reported today that the team is taking over The Boardwalk in Orangevale.

The Boardwalk opened in 1987 and became something of a legend—the best spot for live music in the Sacramento area for years. And it’s all-ages. Then folks started focusing on the grid instead.

Rushing promoted shows there for about 10 years prior to opening Ace of Spades. He told Submerge the takeover is a “no-brainer” because of his own history with The Boardwalk.

“Definitely have our work cut out for us but we have a ton of great ideas to really put this place back on the map,” Rushing said to Submerge. “There are a lot more people living in the grid these days, but a majority of the people are still coming from the ‘burbs anyway, so I’m not so worried about people not driving from downtown.”

The Boardwalk already has a new website for its Rushing- and Bair-book shows, which looks almost identical to the Assembly website. A few shows are booked starting in February, including 17-year-old viral R&B artist London Richards and Sacramento singer-songwriter Jonny Craig, frontman of Slaves and formerly of Dance Gavin Dance.

Read more from Rushing’s interview with Submerge here.

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