Looking back on 2021: The Loft permanently closes, Mac’s Bar closes for renovations

While some local music venues bravely soldiered on throughout 2021 — like The Avenue Café, The Green Door, The Robin Theatre and UrbanBeat — some other classic Lansing venues have either disappeared or are reworking their operations. Here are a couple of big changes that have already left a sizable dent in the scene.

R.I.P. The Loft (2010-2021)

414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing

For starters, The Loft, which opened in February 2010, officially announced its permanent closure back in August. This came after months of inactivity and speculation about the once thriving music venue. Home to a vast spectrum of musical genres, The Loft had a capacity of 500 and hosted everything from big-name acts to nights packed with local talent — including many bills hosted by the once-busy Fusion Shows concert-promotion company. 

One night could be a sold-out Danny Brown show, followed by packed evenings with Esham, Frontier Ruckus or The Used. In the Summer of 2016, the Insane Clown Posse were banned from the spacious second-floor room after flooding the joint with over 1,200 liters of Faygo soda. Shenanigans aside, from its inception, The Loft always stayed focused on its initial goal: being a music venue, nothing more. 

“It’s not a restaurant or a sports bar,” manager Jerome White told City Pulse soon after it opened. “There is no confusing what this room is — it’s a room for live entertainment.” 

Of course, The Loft was shuttered following months of closure due to COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, The Loft’s calendar remained stacked. This obviously was not an isolated incident, either. From Los Angeles to New York City, a shockingly long list of music-centered clubs, some legendary rooms, never recouped from months of inactivity and financial losses. Today, the space once occupied by The Loft is now the home of The Studio at 414. While some music happens at this venture, it’s by no means a traditional rock club. Musical artists can rent the space for shows, but it’s also being billed as “Downtown Lansing’s premier wedding, event and banquet space.” 

In short, Lansing lost one of its go-to hotspots for live entertainment. It’s too early to tell the long-term effects this might have on the music community as a whole, but it surely makes it harder to bring mid-level talent to the area, which also takes away the opportunity for local artists to open those well-attended concerts. 

Mac’s Bar (closed for renovations) 

2700 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing

Back in April, after being closed for renovations, rumors swirled that Mac’s Bar (Lansing’s CBGB-like watering hole) was indeed being fully revamped. Since the room no doubt had seen better days, the much-needed facelift was not the issue. Locals were upset about the murmurs that music was getting axed from the equation. The fast-spreading word was, in short, that Mac’s was revamping into a run-of-the-mill sports bar and it would no longer be a hub for punk, metal, rock, rap and folkies looking for a stage. A social media backlash, and many “RIP Mac’s Bar” posts ensued. 

Then, after media across the area picked up on the rumors, Mac’s Bar owner Chuck Mannino told City Pulse that rumors circulating online were exaggerated. “We are renovating the bar and we’ve gutted it,” he said at the time. “It needs a facelift. It has for a long time. We are going back to the building itself. It will have exposed brick walls.”

In a new statement to City Pulse, made last week, Mannino said he is waiting for contractors to finish the job. “Mac’s will reopen just as soon as they are done,” he said. “Hopefully this spring!” 

Beyond that, Mannino further clarified the extent of the work happening inside the two-story brick structure. “The place has undergone a much needed clean up,” he said. “All of the old drywall is gone, the grimy drop ceiling, too. I’ve swapped for timeless materials: stone, wood and metal. “We’re also building a new bar using reclaimed doors from Detroit.” 

The renovation, which started last fall, includes attaching the old law building next door to Mac’s, which Mannino purchased. That space is reserved for a Detroit-style pizza joint and will be connected to the bar via a lengthy walkway. Construction aside, the bar’s owner also updated City Pulse on the music situation

“The stage will be smaller — a door leading to an outside patio will be on that back wall now,” Mannino said. “I feel the music will be local and regional independent acts of any and all genres. The vibe as always will be fun.” 

With that said, only time will tell if Mac’s Bar remain an instrumental force in the music scene. From mid-1990s shows with legendary Lansing bands like Bantam Rooster, to packed nights throughout the 2000s, with countless legendary bands, the old dirty floors of Mac’s Bar once held the DNA of countless local and touring bands. Will the newly refurbished space retain that gritty magic? Again, only time will tell.

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