First Avenue (nightclub)

First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry are a cornerstone of the Midwest music scene, and serve as an historic landmark of Downtown Minneapolis.

Initially named The Depot (after the building's former function as a Greyhound bus depot), the club got its start when owner Alan Fingerhut opened the doors for the very first time on April 3, 1970 to showcase a two set evening with Joe Cocker. A few years later, as disco reigned over the land, the American Events Company created Uncle Sam's. Steve McClellan and Jack Meyers, the club's financial manager, took the driver's seat in 1978, shortening the club's name to Sam's for a brief time before finally renaming it as First Avenue. McClellan opened the 7th Street Entry in 1981. The club was shut down in late Autumn of 2004 for financial reasons, but was quickly bought up by co-owner Steve McClellan, and shows resumed after only one panic-filled week.

First Avenue has been the jumping point for virtually every single band to come out of Minneapolis, including The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Prince, Soul Asylum, Semisonic, Atmosphere, Dillinger Four, The Jayhawks, and countless others. Its stage has been graced by a countless number of important bands/artists from 1970 on up, as exemplified by the silver stars that adorn its exterior.

First Avenue also appeared in Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain.