Last year, the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern and the City of Cleveland came to terms regarding unpaid admission taxes that the city claimed the club owned. The city even agreed to reduce the admission tax for small clubs like the Beachland so that the place could afford to continue to bring great acts to town and not suffer financially for it.
In the wake of all that, the club has been left with what co-owner Cindy Barber describes as “a rather large legal bill.” On Feb. 7, the club hosts Raising the Bar, a benefit concert designed to help cover some of the costs. Faith & Whiskey, Rule 11 and the Sanctions, Out of Order and the Hung Jury, four bands featuring members of Cleveland’s legal community, will perform for free — the $15 cover charge will go to helping pay the legal fees.
A silent auction will include good seats to Browns and Indians games next year, a Les Paul special edition guitar, a Taylor Acoustic guitar, original paintings by Beachland friends Dana Oldfather and Tim Callaghan, and more.
“We want to make it clear that the Beachland has successfully survived this rather tough stretch that also included Waterloo Road being torn up for the past few years during construction of a new $5.5 million streetscape,” says Barber in a press release. “We now have bright new lighting, new parking lots, landscaped and widened sidewalks and the Tower park at the center of Waterloo at E. 156th that is equipped with a small stage for summer concerts. We are very grateful to the City of Cleveland for shepherding this project and to Councilman Mike Polensek and Northeast Shores Development for getting all of the small Waterloo merchants and organizations through the construction.”
The club celebrates its 15th anniversary in March.
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