Wetlands Preserve, commonly referred to as Wetlands, was a nightclub in New York City that opened in 1989 and closed in 2001. It was located at 161 Hudson Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood.
- Venue
- Wetlands Preserve
- Town
- New York, US
Wetlands Preserve, commonly referred to as Wetlands, was a nightclub in New York City that opened in 1989 and closed in 2001. It was located at 161 Hudson Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood. Wetlands has been called "ground zero for post-Grateful Dead jam bands", fostering a community of semi-improvisational rock bands who went on to achieve mainstream success in the 1990s. The original concept for the Wetlands Preserve came from founder-owner Larry Bloch, who set its course for over eight years before passing the helm to Peter Shapiro in 1997. Shapiro remained faithful to the mission until September 2001, when the gentrification of TriBeCa caused the building to be sold and the club was forced to close before being converted into condominiums. Acts that played at Wetlands include, Disco Biscuits, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Phish, moe., Dave Matthews Band, Oasis, Ween, Maroon 5, Pearl Jam, Widespread Panic, The Tragically Hip, The String Cheese Incident, Joan Osborne, 311, Rage Against the Machine, The Wallflowers, Counting Crows, Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Jeff Buckley, Frank Black, At the Gates, R.L. Burnside with NMAS, Paul Kantner, Yonder Mountain String Band, Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kelly and Sublime. In addition to semi-improvisational rock, Wetlands hosted experimental hip-hop and neo-soul performers as well. The Roots built a loyal following in New York partially by driving up from Philadelphia for Wetlands' weekly open-mic nights. Neo-soul duo Jazzyfatnastees launched their weekly women's showcase "Black Lily" at Wetlands before moving it to The Five Spot in Philadelphia. Black Lily alumnae include Jill Scott, Macy Gray and Erykah Badu. The Wetlands' independent, in-house booking strategies and the freedom to play all night nurtured a scene that helped bands develop a following. Late-night jams lasting until dawn were common. It was the intimate connection fostered between arti