Fillmore East

Overview

Bill Graham's East Village rock theater ('The Church of Rock and Roll') open March 1968 to June 1971, where Hendrix recorded 'Band of Gypsys,' the Allman Brothers made their name, and the Grateful Dead played 43 times.

The Fillmore East occupied a former Yiddish theater at 105 Second Avenue, designed in 1925–26 by Harrison Wiseman in the Medieval Revival style, in what had been the heart of the 'Jewish Rialto' of Second Avenue. Bill Graham (who also operated the Fillmore West in San Francisco) opened the room on March 8, 1968; seating capacity was approximately 2,700. Operating as 'The Church of Rock and Roll,' it ran two-show, triple-bill concerts several nights a week and was widely considered the first New York venue to take live rock seriously with a sophisticated sound system. The Allman Brothers Band played there so often they were called Graham's house band; the Grateful Dead performed 43 concerts at the Fillmore East between June 1968 and April 1971; Jimi Hendrix's album Band of Gypsys was recorded live there on New Year's Day 1970 with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Graham shut the room on June 27, 1971, with a three-night closing run headlined by the Allman Brothers; the final evening also featured Country Joe, Mountain, and the Beach Boys. The building later became, in part, the gay men's disco The Saint (1980–1988).

Oral histories & archival media

Archive plates

Plates fill in as scans clear rights

Sonic profile

Cultural role

DJs, promoters & people

Follow a name to see other rooms they connect to

Parties & residencies

Tags

Related rooms