One of Gainesville’s beloved music venues downtown hosts its final jam Saturday.
“Forever Summer: The Last Jam” celebrates The JAM’s time open with a lineup of 20 national and local bands. The bill includes Bear Creek Festival performers Come Back Alice and Captain Green, as well as local producers Bells and Robes. It’s sponsored by entities such as Organic Visions Presents and Swamp Records.
The JAM recently celebrated its two-year anniversary, but venue owner Eddie Arenas never intended for the venue to run for so long.
“From the beginning, The JAM was meant to be a short-term project. It was never really meant to run as long as it has been,” Arenas said.
His sister Veronica started a business at the location but decided to close and continued to pay rent for the unused space. Arenas spotted an opportunity, moving his instruments and starting up a regular jam night.
“We were supposed to run the lease up for five months, yet here we are two years later,” he said.
The Florida Innovation Hub at UF owns the block where The JAM is located from its previous running of Shands Hospital at Alachua General Hospital, which has since been demolished. They plan to demolish The JAM among other buildings, including houses that have been standing since the 1890s to build a new hotel in the space.
“My sister and I lived in the houses,” Arenas said. “They are historical monuments built in the 1890s despite the hard financial times of the city.”
Despite the impending closure, The JAM will host events until Dec. 5. The last show at The JAM includes a bill with Gainesville-famous bands like Morning Fatty, The Savants of Soul and others.
Swamp Records president Breana Auberry also feels The JAM’s closure will leave a void in the local music scene.
“The Jam has a special place in my heart and the rest of Swamp Records staff, (it’s) where our first memories are with Swamp Showcase,” the 21-year old UF advertising senior said.
“The vibes in that venue can’t be matched,” she said.
While Arenas has no plans to start up a new venue, he said he plans to continue supporting the local music scene.
“Running a music venue is really demanding. It requires a lot of time and energy,” he said.
“I’m not sure if (venue management) is something I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said, “but I will always support Gainesville’s music scene.”
