Iconic California music venue which hosted Taylor Swift and other country stars forced to close
Buck Owens' Crystal Palace - a beloved restaurant, bar, and music venue in Bakersfield - announced its sudden closure this week after 28 years of serving as a cornerstone of the West Coast's country music scene.
The decision was attributed to hard times across the industry and the Owens family's desire to step back from the mounting responsibilities of running the business.
'Now, a challenging business plus the wishes of the Owens family members to step back from the responsibilities of management require finally shutting the doors,' the family said in a statement obtained by KBAK News.
'It is our hope that new owners will step forward to utilize this beautiful venue,' it added.
The venue - a two-story, Western Revival-style landmark spanning 21,000 square feet on Buck Owens Boulevard - has long been dubbed the 'Mecca of country music.'
'Almost three decades of probably one of the more famous venues in the world for country music,' Jim Shaw, 78-year-old director of the Buck Owens Private Foundation, which owns the business, told KERO News.
'The Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, basically everybody came there,' he added.
Despite its star-studded history and 600-person capacity, the Crystal Palace has quietly been on the market for the past 13 months, with an asking price of $7.5 million.
'If we got the perfect buyer and they'd want to keep it the way it is, we'd be really generous on making a deal,' Shaw told SFGate.
Its legacy began in 1996 when Buck Owens - a hugely influential country musician - founded an all-in-one restaurant, concert venue and museum celebrating his life and career.
Over the years, the club hosted future superstars like Taylor Swift, who, at just 16, took the stage in 2006 accompanied by her mother, long before she became a global icon, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In a memorable moment from May 2005, Garth Brooks even proposed to fellow country superstar Trisha Yearwood on the venue's stage during a ceremony unveiling bronze statues of 10 country music legends.
'It was a great ride, and the first 10 years we were open, the Buckaroos played with Buck every Friday and Saturday night,' Shaw told SFGate.
'Those nights we had George Jones and Willie Nelson, they'd pop in on us, and we would jam,' he added.
Owens himself, the frontman of The Buckaroos, performed one final show on March 24, 2006 - just one night before he passed away.
'The last night he wasn't feeling good, and he told me he wasn't going to play,' Shaw said.
'Buck walked out, and a couple from Oregon saw him outside as he crossed to his car and told him how excited they were to see him because last time he'd been sick,' he added.
'And he thought, "Oh crap," turned around and played the night.'
But Shaw - a former member of Owen's band and director of the foundation that has owned the Crystal Palace since his death - said the venue's decline has been unfolding gradually over the years.
Its unfortunate end, Shaw said, 'has been coming for a while - and I've dreaded seeing it happen,' according to LA Times.
'This starts off very depressing for us very bittersweet, and what I've learned in thinking about it – the same came up when we listed it for sale – just to be so proud of 28+ years, that's a big deal,' he told KERO.
Additionally, the team behind the venue - including Shaw himself - has been aging, with many of those handling behind-the-scenes operations now in their mid to late 70s.
'We've done what we can,' he told LA Times.
The Buck Owens Foundation officially put the property on the market last year, but so far, it hasn't attracted a buyer.
With the venue still up for sale, Shaw made it his mission to convince the family to keep the lights on - if only for a little while longer.
'I thought it'd be better to show off the operation in order to get it sold,' he told SFGate.
Now, devastated fans and performers are clinging to hope that someone with both a passion for music and the means to match will swoop in to rescue the legendary venue.
Even Monty Byrom - a seasoned rock, blues, and country musician - called on members of the California State Assembly to step up and help preserve its history.
'Stan Ellis, buy the palace,' Byrom told KERO. 'Somebody out there buy the Palace!'
Its sudden closure isn't unique - the Crystal Palace now joins a growing list of smaller country music venues struggling to survive in an industry that increasingly favors large arenas.
'The plight for legendary, midsized country music venues continues to worsen,' according to SavingCountyMusic.com.
The Owens family officially announced its closure on Monday, revealing that its final show had taken place just two days earlier, on Saturday.
'We are extremely proud of the Crystal Palace... for over 28 years we brought the best of local and national entertainment to Bakersfield, served great food, and hosted thousands of special occasions for the thousands of special people and families,' the statement read.
'Although Buck left us in 2006, we continued to maintain the excellence that he expected, striving to carry out his dream,' it added.
'We know Buck would want us to thank the people of Bakersfield and fans from around the world for all of the support over the past years. We will miss you all.'
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