The Spotlight in Los Angeles
Courtesy of Restless Media
Hollywood’s ever-evolving nightlife scene is about to expand again, with a new club, The Spotlight, set to open later this month.
Located in the heart of Hollywood at 1601 N. Cahuenga Blvd., the 2,700-square-foot space will have a 300-person capacity and feature genre-spanning musical performances in an elegant, dimly lit setting. See exclusive first look images of the venue below.
Taking over the space formerly occupied by clubs The Avenue and A/V Nightclub, The Spotlight will be operated by Framework. The Los Angeles-based production company is behind Hollywood’s nearby nightclub Sound and, in partnership with Goldenvoice, programs Coachella’s club-centric Yuma Tent. Framework was founded by Kobi Danan, who helped open and operate A/V from 2011-2013. (The Avenue occupied the space from 2017-2021.)
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The first round of musical programming for The Spotlight will be announced in the coming week.
Regarding The Spotlight’s programming, Danan tells Billboard that “One night, you can expect exceptional underplays, another, we transform into a platform to showcase emerging talent, but regardless of the night, our guests can expect consistency in the quality of programming all while being encapsulated by an elevated customer experience. Our goal has always and will always be to revive Hollywood as the premier destination for music.”
While Sound is just a half-mile from The Spotlight, Danan says programming at the two clubs will be different, with Sound “built with a simple philosophy, to bring a novel and always-evolving electronic underground experience to nightlife in Hollywood. Electronic music, in all its varieties, is the true heart of what we do at Sound, and will continue to do.
“The Spotlight, on the other hand,” he continues, “is a space for versatility. At our core, we’re not just electronic dance music enthusiasts, we’re patrons of all things music, art, and culture. Having The Spotlight in our portfolio gives us the opportunity to diversify our programming, and lean into our passion for live music and fostering talent across the spectrum of every genre, while creating an intimate space for creativity in all forms to thrive.”
He adds that the club’s intimate setting is the “antithesis” to the projects in Framework’s existing portfolio.
The Spotlight has, Danan says, undergone “top to bottom aesthetic changes,” with the golden-toned lighting and curtain-draped walls recalling Hollywood’s golden era. The venue features a new stage featuring a custom DJ booth built on automatic hydraulics that can quickly transform the stage from DJ setup to live music seteup in seconds. For sound, The Spotlight was also refitted with custom L-acoustics and tuned to accommodate diverse programming.
The Spotlight is located in The Marion building, built in 1920 as a hotel. By the ’70s, the space had become a 24-hour gay bar called The Spotlight, with this new iteration paying homage to this Hollywood pedigree by returning it to its former name.