As Joe Biden once said, this is a big f—ing deal!
The Camel, a West Broad St. club that’s been a mainstay in the local music (and food, and craft beer) scene for years now, has been working for nearly a year to change their zoning permit in order to allow live music until 2 AM.
As Joe Biden once said, this is a big f—ing deal!
The Camel, a West Broad St. club that’s been a mainstay in the local music (and food, and craft beer) scene for years now, has been working for nearly a year to change their zoning permit in order to allow live music until 2 AM.
Here’s some background on the situation from an article we ran earlier in the year:
When The Camel originally opened in 2006, the previous Camel owners and local LP-FM radio station WRIR needed a special use permit to operate a radio station in the building. The approved permit stipulated that “entertainment must end by 11pm Sunday through Thursday, and by 1am Friday and Saturday.” Eight years later, The Camel is now trying to shed the burden of WRIR’s permit.
The Camel falls under City Council President Charles Samuels’s district, and Samuels ended up signing on as patron for the Ordinance amending the original special use permit issued for the property, along with 1st District Councilman Jon Baliles.
According to an observer account of the City Council meeting Monday night, the ordinance was moved to the consent portion of the agenda, at which time no one asked to speak in opposition to the proposed ordinance.
When the time came for the Council to consider the ordinance, Camel owner Rand Burgess thanked the Council members for their support, and asked that, in order to save time, those who had come to speak in support of The Camel simply stand to show their support. A group estimated at around 50 people stood, at which time Burgess simply said, “RVA All Day.” Shortly afterward, the ordinance was passed.
Check out footage from Rand’s speech below:
After the meeting adjourned, The Camel posted a triumphant status update on Facebook. “Thank you everyone who has been behind us from the beginning and continued to show support throughout everything this year.” Congratulations were also offered by such local music scene luminaries as Reggie Pace of No BS! Brass Band/Jellowstone Records and Samantha Reed of Photosynthesizers, and a general mood of jubilation has been seen on facebook invites for upcoming Camel shows.
And you should of course head out to The Camel anytime this week to take part in the celebration in person. They’ve got a great live lineup coming up for the rest of the week, with performances by The Silo Effect, Horsehead, Mike Watt’s Il Sogno del Marinaio, and more–all of which will be going on until 2 AM!
