Thompson House Grand Opening Weekend

Music fans were heartbroken when a legendary concert venue closed down 5 months ago. Now the former Southgate House is open again; with a new name, and a new owner.

Local 12's Dan Spehler was at Fridays grand opening for the Thompson House in Newport.

"It's a new name for this historic building, The Thompson House, from jazz to heavy metal, the new owners say they're hoping to appeal to a wide audience."

They're celebrating on a high note because now the music is back in Newport.

"It's actually a great place."

Upstairs they're playing jazz, reminiscent of days gone by.

"At my age I remember when Newport was Newport, you know everything was happen good to see things coming back things coming alive again."

Downstairs, they're setting up the main stage here at Thompson House.

Sure it's not quite the same for some people, with new murals on the walls downstairs. Still the owners say they're hoping to build on the history and tradition that was started here.

"To let something like this disappear we just had to keep it going and keep the music live here in this house the house is what makes it so unique."

"It's one of our jewels in the crown of many old buildings we have in the city."

"I'm ecstatic!" Glad to have this place open again? "Absolutely, glad they're here."

"It hasn't been open for a while and it's hard to find light jazz in Newport and Cincinnati so we just came to check it out something different."

That's exactly what they're going for.

"From jazz to rock to pop to indie we're going to be doing rock musicals and Broadway rock musicals."

"We want to appeal to everyone."

They hope that's the key to long-lasting success.

Saturday and Sunday, the venue hosts a hard rock metal fest.

You can check out the complete calender on the club's website.

Saturday evening is the Cincinnati Metal and Hardcore Fest II. Learn more about the event here.

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