House of Blues Entertainment LLC is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues’ first location, in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Overview
The first House of Blues opened on November 26, 1992, in the Harvard Square commercial district and retail area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was originally financed by Dan Aykroyd, Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, River Phoenix, James Belushi, and Harvard University, among others. This original location has since closed. However, the hands-in-concrete driveway where members of the Blues Brothers and others left their mark, still remains.
Aykroyd and Belushi remain associated with the brand and are present for most openings, attending and performing at the opening celebrations of both the Houston and the Boston House of Blues locations. In 1999, House of Blues acquired Universal Concerts from Seagram. On July 5, 2006, Live Nation acquired House of Blues. As a division of Live Nation, the company currently operates 12 clubs throughout North America, with its location in Atlantic City being franchised. Nine of these locations also feature the VIP membership club, Foundation Room.
About the House of Blues
The House of Blues grew out of founder Isaac Tigrett’s love for the unique American art form known as the “the Blues”. Weaned on this music during his early childhood in Tennessee, one of Isaac’s goals was to introduce the world to the music of the rural south, including the Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Roots-based Rock & Roll.
The very first House of Blues opened its doors in a converted historical house in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1992 and is home to live music, original folk art, and delta-inspired cuisine.
The House of Blues is dedicated to educating and celebrating the history of Southern Culture and African American artistic contributions to music and art.
Our mission is to create:
- A profitable, principled global entertainment company.
- To celebrate the diversity and brotherhood of world culture.
- To promote racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence.
History and Community
The House of Blues commitment to serving the community will always be a priority. From feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving Day before opening to the public to its grass-roots efforts to find and support local artists, the House of Blues is more than a place for music and food.
Steeped in tradition of the South, many of the artifacts and items represented in the House of Blues have historical significance.
Our “Crazy Quilt” stage curtains pay respect to the enslaved Africans who used the Underground Railroad as a passage to freedom. The “Jacob’s Ladder” pattern is an example of this.
These curtains that cover every stage at our venues have been constructed in a free-form-abstract arrangement and took over one thousand hours to complete.
Under every stage in the House of Blues is a metal box filled with Delta Mississippi mud. This box is welded to the structure on the stage to ensure that every artist has the roots and the spirit of the South planted beneath their feet.
Our art collection is almost entirely comprised of Folk, Outsider, and Self-Taught artwork and we refer to this style as the “Visual Blues.” Currently, the House of Blues is the largest curator of Outsider Art in the world.
Juke Joints are a major inspiration for the House of Blues look and feel. Many southern juke joints are full of hand painted signs and decor: eclectic collections of art, posters, furniture, wall murals, and other sorts of decoration.
By embracing the community through the arts, the House of Blues extended its efforts by creating the International House of Blues Foundation.
The International House of Blues Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunity and building community through live music and the arts, with special emphasis on reaching under-served youth.
Working with partners in our House of Blues communities, the foundation connects youth with music, art resources and opportunities they would otherwise not be able to access. Foundation programs create performance opportunities for young and emerging musicians; educate youth about the role of music and culture in social change; and inspire young people with practical experience in the music industry.
