Knitting Factory

Knitting Factory Works
Knitting Factory Works
Founded	1989 or 1990
Founder	Knitting Factory
Status	Unknown
Country of origin	United States

Knitting Factory
Location	New York City,U.S.
Coordinates	40°43′33″N73°59′02″W/ 40.72583°N 73.98389°W
Genre(s)	Experimental music,rock music,pop music,etc.
Opened	1987 byMichael Dorfand Louis Spitzer
Website
	knittingfactory.com

TheKnitting Factoryis a nightclub inNew York Citythat features eclectic music and entertainment and is co-owned and co-operated by Knitting Factory Entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.

The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, performance art, standup comedy, and musicians who transcended the usual boundaries ofrockandjazz,oftenexperimental music.The Knitting Factory owners distributed some performances to radio stations, and around 1990 starting a radio show and the record labelKnitting Factory Works.^[1]Later the founders startedKnitting Factory Recordsin 1998.

History

Founding in New York (1987)

The Knitting Factory was founded byMichael Dorfand Louis Spitzer in 1987. It was named by Dorf's and Spitzer's childhood friend Bob Appel and songwriter Jonathan Zarov, who derived the name through joking about Appel's experience working in an actual knitting factory. Appel, a lifelong musician, joined as a co-owner and co-manager soon after its founding.John Zornwas heavily associated with the creative direction of the club in its earliest years.

The original location was inManhattanat 47 EastHouston Street,near toCBGBand within walking distance ofThe Bottom Line.The venue was founded as an art gallery, with a performance space and cafe, as well as a home for experimental music.^[2]

Within a few years, the venue relocated to a new Manhattan location at 74 Leonard St, which featured a much larger main hall that generally showcased independent rock and pop music, and two smaller subterranean stages that were initially dedicated to avant garde music.

Since 1990, the Knitting Factory has sponsored the What is Jazz? Festival, a two-week long event in several locations in New York City. The event became so successful that its name was changed to theNew York Jazz Festival.^[3]Knitting Factory Recordswas later founded in 1998.

New clubs outside New York (2000–2007)

Concert at the Spokane venue

Dorf opened a new club location in Los Angeles in 2000 under the former parent company of Knitting Factory Entertainment, KnitMedia. Jared Hoffman, the founder ofInstinct Records,which was acquired by Knitting Factory Entertainment in 2002, took over as CEO of the company from Dorf in 2004. In 2006 he oversaw the acquisition of concert promoters Bravo Entertainment and, in 2008, re-branded two of Bravo's clubs (one inBoise, Idaho,and another inSpokane, Washington) as Knitting Factory concert houses. The company then began promoting a number of mainstream tours throughout the US under the promotion arm Knitting Factory Presents.

In 2007 The Knitting Factory partnered withXM Satellite Radioto record and broadcast concerts from both Knitting Factory locations.

Ownership changes and move (2008)

Hoffman left the company when Morgan Margolis, who started working for the brand in 2000, took over as CEO in 2008.^[4]

In July 2008 the owners announced their move to close the Manhattan location and move to a much smaller space inWilliamsburg, Brooklynat 361 Metropolitan Ave. At this new venue alternative comedy thrived, with many notable comedians gracing the stage includingHannibal Buress,Seth Herzog,Che Bridgett,Dan Ilic,andPete Davidson.^[5]But they changed their minds and reopened theTribecalocation, and continued putting on shows with bands includingThe Shells,theCro-Mags,andNew Model Army (band).^[6]^[7]^[8]At that time, the New York and Hollywood locations held over 5,000 live performances each year.^[9]

Reno and closures (2009–present)

In July 2009 it was reported that the Los Angeles location was closing.^[10]

The last show in the Manhattan location was on July 25, 2009, and was an event called Staff Infection in which staff took to the stage and said goodbye to its beloved club. The last band to play KFNY was 12,000 Trees featuring 3 Knit staffers. A new location was set to reopen in Brooklyn in July 2009.^[11]^[12]

On September 9, 2009, The Knitting Factory relocated to the former space of theLuna Lounge—itself a Manhattan transplant—at 361 Metropolitan Avenue. This location, completely remodeled, had a capacity of about 300. The venue opened with a performance byLes Savy Fav.^[13]^[14]

A new Knitting Factory location opened near theReno Archin downtownReno, Nevadaon January 1, 2010.^[15]It was announced that this location would be closing in March 2016.^[16]

In August 2022 the Williamsburg location closed due to dramatic rent increases on top of significant revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Stated plans at the time were to relocate the venue to the East Village in 2023.^[17]

The Knitting Factory returned to Los Angeles in late 2022 with a venue opening in the neighborhood of North Hollywood.^[18]This venue closed in December 2023, with plans to reopen in theArt DistrictofDowntown Los Angelesin 2024.^[19]

The Knitting Factory New York reopened in the oldPyramid Clublocation on Avenue A, now called Baker Falls, on July 20, 2023.^[20]It closed one year later in July, 2024, for sound proofing.