The Roxy opened on September 20, 1973. In recognition of the groundbreaking cultural impact the Sunset Strip club has had on Los Angeles (and the world) over the past half century, West Hollywood city council members John Heilman and Chelsea Byers presented Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer and founder and owner of The Roxy, Lou Adler, with a Proclamation declaring Wednesday, September 20 as “Roxy 50th Day” in the City Of West Hollywood. A ceremony took place in front of The Roxy theater on The Sunset Strip Wednesday morning.
Photo provided courtesy of the City of West Hollywood. Some rights reserved. Photo credit: Jon Viscott
Photo provided courtesy of the City of West Hollywood. Some rights reserved. Photo credit: Jon ViscottThe proclamation celebrates The Roxy’s 50th anniversary and all of the career-defining moments they’ve created – whether in music (legendary concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Patti Smith, The Ramones and many more), comedy (Richard Pryor, Cheech & Chong, Paul Reubens), theater (hosted the first-ever performances of the Rocky Horror Show in the US, paving the way for the iconic film) and nightlife (a regular haunt for icons like Jack Nicholson, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Cher and more).
Photo provided courtesy of the City of West Hollywood. Some rights reserved. Photo credit: Jon ViscottThe ceremony took place before Neil Young with Crazy Horse were set to perform their first of two special benefit concerts at the club later that evening, taking place 50 years to the day after Young helped open The Roxy with a multi-night headlining run beginning September 20, 1973.
On September 12, West Hollywood Mayor, Sepi Shine presented Lou Adler with a Key to the City of West Hollywood as part of the the city’s Artist and Icon’s series. Adler accepted the Key at the opening reception of a photo exhibition at the West Hollywood Library as part of the Roxy’s 50th Anniversary celebration, curated by the Grammy Museum’s Jasen Emmons.
Additional 50th anniversary events include:
- Additional shows with the return of Los Angeles’ own Wallows to The Roxy on September 23, and Stephen Marley performing his father Bob Marley’s legendary album ‘Live at Roxy,’ recorded at the club in 1976, on September 24.
- The GRAMMY Museum opened their The ROXY: 50 and Still Rockin’ exhibit this past weekend, featuring rare/behind-the-scenes photographs, a new short film on the club and memorabilia from Lou Adler’s personal archives.
- The West Hollywood Library is running an exhibit on The Roxy through May 2024, featuring photographs from the venue and anecdotes from the key players involved.
- The Roxy hosted the inaugural ‘Sunset & Vinyl Market’ record fair this weekend outside of the club, with LA vinyl leaders like Record Safari and Deadly Wax last weekend.
To learn more about the Roxy 50th celebration, visit: https://www.theroxy.com/
