JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a memorable farewell for an iconic Jacksonville Beach concert hall which closed its doors for the last time Wednesday night.
Freebird Live hosted one last show--that completely sold out.
Galactic and The Record Company performed the last show at Freebird Live. The fan favorite has appeared just about every year since the band bar opened. And many concert goers came from out of town just to see the final show.
Clyde Yandell is one of the people who will never forget the Jacksonville Beach music venue. Yandell now works in the music industry in Atlanta and said it wouldn't have happened without Freebird, the venue he attended his first concert.
"You can't replace this place. I mean you’re gonna’ put in something else but there’s no replacing Freebird." With Freebird closing down, my most vivid memory, was just that, I was 15-years-old, was my first show and I wasn’t even old enough to drive, and my mom dropped me off at a punk concert, and it literally changed my entire life," Yandell said.
“A lot of good talent has come through this place, and that’s been anywhere from every different type of genre. It’s not been you know, the beautiful thing about Freebird, said Stevie Denmark.
Owner Melody Van-Zant posted this message on Facebook that said thank you, prior to closing night.
"The last few weeks I have spent countless hours cleaning up and clearing out. It has been an emotional roller coaster. I have laughed, I have cried, I have used some really horrible language and have smiled at memories that have been made. I want to say that even though the years of work haven't always been easy.......it was worth it. I have made some amazing friendships along the way and many of those people I now consider family. I want to say thank you 1st to my father for the inspiration, to my children for putting up with a tired and stressed mother, my family for standing behind me and my staff for their hard work. I also want to thank the bands and fans, without your love of music we never would have survived. Last but not least I want to thank my mom for her dream and the amazing journey it took us on. I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Now let's get in there one last time and give them what they came for!"
The venue is closing because it is in the process of being sold. Surfer, the bar, is slated to take Freebird's place.