Cleveland rock club Grog Shop celebrates its 20th anniversary

Cleveland Heights, Ohio, rock club GROG SHOP started out the same way a band (or even AP) does: Some likeminded people get an idea, find the means to execute said idea, cross their fingers and hang on for dear life. For the past two decades, the Grog has cultivated strong relationships with bands, booking agents and most importantly, Cleveland-area music fans who love live music. Over the years, Kathy Blackman and her staff have hosted plenty of rock legends, as well as all of your favorite bands, back in the days when those acts couldn’t afford booking agents. Because AP staffers have been getting their minds and eardrums (and livers) blown by the Grog’s atmosphere, sweet soundsystem and awesome crew, we interviewed Blackman for a brief tribute to the Cleveland rock institution that came up through the ranks just like AP did.

After you’re done watching the video, head over the Grog Shop’s website and check out the lineup they’ve put together for their anniversary celebration. And AP will be in on the action, as well:  We’ll be sponsoring a pre-show barbecue with LESS THAN JAKE on September 13 (Be sure to use altpress as your access code: buy tickets here), as well as hosting an afterparty on September 19 with guest DJ Minus The Bear’s Erin Tate at the Grog’s basement dance club, the B-Side Liquor Lounge. We’re proud to be part of the club’s storied history (Historical Note: The club’s current location used to be a coffee shop where Mike Shea and some friends sowed the seeds for the first issue of AP) and we are stoked to see what the Grog does during the next 20 years.