Avant Gardner is hoping to turn a new leaf—and crowdsourcing employees in the process.
The troubled music venue complex plans to shed the Avant Gardner moniker for a new name, Brooklyn Magazine reports. An anonymous employee shared an October 17 email outlining the changes. However, it appears that the rebrand is, so far, largely superficial.
“There hasn’t been much transparency with employees about the transition itself and what it means for everyone, but they’re still asking for input about an eventual venue name change, which suggests systematic overhaul of some kind,” they told the site.
It’s been a rough few years for Avant Gardner, who shuttered its Brooklyn Mirage venue last year after incurring a string of bad publicity after two mysterious deaths occurred near the property. Avant Gardner hired a new CEO in 2024 to try to turn things around, only to later fire him for failing to reopen the venue (the city’s Department of Buildings summarily shut it down just hours before its debut show in May, deeming it entirely unsafe). Avant Gardner has now filed for bankruptcy and plans to demolish Brooklyn Mirage.
You can find the full list of names here. Our current faves are Brooklyn Hauz Complex, Da Block, and Anu Start (no doubt submitted by an Arrested Development fan likely, as the Brits say, taking the piss).