The Atlantis Surfaces with Stellar Sound

Washington, D.C. (July 22, 2024)—The 9:30 Club has been an integral part of the Washington, D.C. music scene for decades—the original took over a small club called The Atlantis in 1980 and soon became the region’s must-play venue. Now there’s a new Atlantis in town, created by concert promoter I.M. with the aim of recreating the intimate, tight-knit vibe of the original, while bringing some aspects up to date, such as the audio system.

Located at 2047 9th Street, N.W. next to the 9:30 Club, the new $10 million, 450-capacity venue is a near replica of the original 9:30 Club. The venue was designed by CORE architecture + design and built by MCN Build, with architectural acoustic consulting and engineering services provided by Walters-Storyk Design Group. Foo Fighters—led by D.C. area native Dave Grohl—played the venue’s first show last year.

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Eighth Day Sound outfitted the site with d&b audiotechnik A-Series boxes and SL-GSUB subs. “There was no question that I.M.P. wanted a d&b solution for the venue, as they rely on the brand for the sound reinforcement in all of their event spaces,” commented Owen Orzack of Eighth Day Sound, referring to other venues in the I.M.P. portfolio like the 9:30 Club, The Lincoln Theatre, The Anthem, and Merriweather Post Pavilion. “But because of the venue’s small size and I.M.P.’s strict adherence to the non-optimal layout of the original club, a corner stage in a rectangular room, neither a line array nor a point source system was suitable for the space. We opted for d&b’s freshly released A-Series which is as an augmented array, a hybrid of the two that has the best qualities of both.”

“Initially, I was concerned about having only six small boxes in the air and four side fills for the whole room,” said I.M.P.’s Drew Kot. “Some big-name front-of-house engineers were also hesitant when they saw the PA, but those eight boxes really surprised us. By soundcheck, everyone was confident in the A-Series.” Kot added.