Holy Diver, midtown Sacramento’s hard rock music venue, closes permanently
Gotta get away, get away: Holy Diver in midtown Sacramento has hosted its last show.
The hard rock venue on 21st Street between O and P streets was hard to miss, its black facade painted with two skeletons facing off above a deep red front door.
On Monday morning, that red door was off the frame and propped up against a front window, while a large blue “For sale” banner hung from the side of the building.
Holy Diver posted to its social media pages Sunday evening: “Until we meet again.”
One Facebook user speculated in a comment that Holy Diver might have just been marking the last show of 2021, writing: “I think they mean see ya next year!!”
“Nope. Goodbye,” the Holy Diver page responded Monday morning.
Workers at Holy Diver were removing equipment from the building Monday morning; the red front door was off its hinges and leaning against the front wall outside.
Responding to another Facebook commenter who asked the venue to clarify, Holy Diver again simply wrote: “Goodbye.”
A direct message from a Sacramento Bee reporter on Facebook yielded an automated response. “We’ve held our final show at this location,” it read in part.
Bret Bair and Eric Rushing, business partners who founded and owned Ace of Spades before its sale in 2016 to Live Nation, opened Holy Diver in 2017.
Bair and partners also own Goldfield Trading Post, a midtown bar and music venue on J Street that recently opened a second location in Roseville, as well as a few other local bars and venues.
According to its website and social media pages, some of Holy Diver’s planned 2022 shows have been moved to the two Goldfield locations.
The live music industry has struggled throughout the COVID-19 pandemic amid restrictions that have ranged from modifications to full-on closures, with small- and medium-sized venues hit especially hard.
Holy Diver, which had capacity for about 300 guests at its shows, did not give a specific reason for closing in its brief social media remarks. Bair did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment, and other efforts by The Bee to contact the venue Monday morning were unsuccessful.
Several Facebook users speculated that Holy Diver had to close because it was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but Holy Diver disputed that in another comment, replying: “Not true. Just to clarify.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 10:14 AM.
