Photos courtesy of Bronx Music Hall
For the first time in over 50 years, a new independent music venue has opened in the Bronx. The Bronx Music Hall on Friday celebrated its grand opening, introducing a new 14,000-square-foot performance hall and community cultural center committed to promoting music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary arts. Located at 438 East 163rd Street in Melrose, the facility, part of the mixed-use Bronx Commons development, includes a 250-seat theater, a grand lobby and exhibition hall, a multipurpose room and dance studio, and more.
Developed by the non-profit Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco), the $15.4 million music hall is expected to serve 20,000 community members and visitors each year.
The cultural center will feature live music, dance, spoken word performances, theater workshops and productions, a youth orchestra, film screenings, art exhibitions, community showcases, and other engaging programs.
Designed by WXY Architecture + Urban Design, the cutting-edge facility is now the new home of WHEDco’s Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC), which was established in 2010 to highlight the borough’s music, support local artists, revitalize neighborhoods, and offer free cultural programs to the community.
Elena Martínez and multi-Grammy-nominated percussionist Bobby Sanabria will serve as co-artistic directors for BMHC, curating programming at the music hall. Additionally, BMHC will offer free and affordable music and dance classes for children, teens, and adults at the venue.
“Our new home at the Bronx Music Hall provides us with the long-anticipated opportunity to expand our artistic vision and engage larger audiences as we showcase the Bronx’s diverse cultural and musical legacy, in partnership with the borough’s incredible artistic community,” Martínez said.
“This day has been eagerly awaited by our community members, audiences, and artists alike. The Bronx Music Hall stands as a source of pride for everyone involved and represents a major win for the South Bronx.”
The Bronx Music Hall also includes a green room for performers, a recording studio and post-production space, and amphitheater-style seating in two nearby plazas designed for outdoor performances.
BMH will be the premier venue for artists to share and for audiences to experience the Bronx’s rich musical legacy. The vibrant history of music in the Bronx over the last 100 years has coincided with the social, economic, and cultural changes in the borough and city.
Waves of migration to the Bronx—Germans, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Irish, West Indian, African American, Garifuna, West African, and Bangladeshi—added new rhythms and languages to the soundscape, often morphing to create new genres.
Known as the birthplace of hip-hop, which emerged in the 1970s, the Bronx became a hub for doo-wop, R&B, Latin jazz, and salsa, housing dozens of live music venues in the decades that followed.
“We are delighted to welcome Bronxites and visitors from near and far to experience live performances and immerse themselves in the rich history, diversity, and brilliance of Bronx music,” Davon Russell, president of WHEDco, said.
“This state-of-the-art venue is the centerpiece of WHEDco’s Bronx Commons development, embodying our belief that access to the arts is an essential element of thriving, vibrant communities. We take immense pride in expanding cultural offerings in the Bronx, and we are deeply grateful to all of our supporters whose contributions have made this vision a reality.”
The BMH’s grand opening is supported by a $2.6 million grant awarded to WHEDco from Empire State Development, which includes a $2.3 million capital grant recommended by the city’s Regional Economic Development Corporation, and $312,000 through I LOVE NY’s Market New York program, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Grand opening weekend starts on Friday, October 18 at 5:30 p.m. with a panel moderated by Nancy Biberman, founder and president emerita of WHEDco. After the panel, there will be an opening reception and ribbon-cutting event, including words from government officials and others who have supported the BMH.
The evening will end at 8 p.m. with a performance by Bronx hip-hop icons Grandmaster Caz and MC Sha-Rock, Bronx DJ collective Uptown Vinyl Supreme, and the Afro-Haitian roots music band Kongo.
The celebrations will extend into the weekend, starting Saturday at 6 p.m. with a reception and the debut of a new photo exhibit titled “The Place to Be: A Decade at the BMHC.”
This will be followed at 8 p.m. by a program called “Caribbean Sounds: New Orleans to The Bronx,” featuring the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band, along with guests Janis Siegel, Antoinette Montague, Jade Ledesna, and Ricky Gordon & The Individuals of Peace.
Opening weekend concludes on Sunday at 2 p.m. with Open House New York, followed at 3 p.m. by “African Diaspora in The Bronx,” featuring Yawuza Alhassan & the Wuza Wuza Ensemble and GrupoMaburuaña.
The Bronx Music Hall is part of the larger Bronx Commons mixed-use development, which broke ground in Melrose in January 2017. The $160 million project includes 305 affordable apartments, a 150-seat 3-K and pre-K school, retail space, and a landscaped plaza.
“The opening of the Bronx Music Hall marks a new chapter in the cultural and economic renaissance of the South Bronx,” Hope Knight, president and commissioner of Empire State Development, said.
“This project embodies our commitment to supporting vibrant, inclusive communities through strategic investments in the arts and creative industries. This new venue will not only celebrate the borough’s incredible musical legacy but also serve as a catalyst for job creation, tourism, and long-term economic growth.”
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