Agora Theatre and Ballroom
The Agora Theatre and Ballroom is a music venue located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hank LoConti opened the first Agora on February 27, 1966, near the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. His concept of promoting live entertainment for young adults was an instant success and audiences outgrew both the building and the neighborhood almost immediately.
History and timeline
Henry LoConti opened the first Agora in 1966 near the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.In 1968, a new Cleveland Agora Beta opened its doors in another building near the Cleveland State University campus where it grew into the most influential concert club in the nation. Initially Hank never imagined the Agora would evolve into a major force in the international concert scene and grow to become a premier concert club facility in the US.
In the years that followed, the Agora clubs played a major role in developing the music and entertainment industry in Cleveland and the nation by booking and producing thousands of local, national, and international groups to perform on Agora stages in 13 cities.
In 1968 the Agora booked its first international act, the Buckinghams. For many years, “Monday Night Out at the Agora” was nicknamed “Golden” because of the concept of showcasing original music groups who kept the club filled. Terry Knight & The Pack, better known as Grand Funk Railroad, The Outlaws, ZZ Top, Glass Harp, Foghat, Peter Frampton, Bob Seger, Kiss, Boston, Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren and Talking Heads all achieved national and international prominence after playing the Cleveland Agora stage. In addition, the club served as a showcase for local bands and Sunday nights were reserved for original local bands like Rainbow Canyon, The Raspberries, and the James Gang.
The Agora also had a downstairs club called The Mistake and later named Pop Shop, where many bands from folk to metal performed. The club hosted music industry private parties and was visited by legends, such as The Velvet Underground's Nico, who played there in 1972.
Backstage at the Agora, production personnel grew in experience and knowledge. Production techniques created and honed in at the Agora developed professionals that went on to become employed nationally and internationally as the music industry developed and groups began to tour. Untold numbers of lighting and sound engineers, managers, stage managers, roadies, and record and radio promotions personnel polished their abilities by working behind the scenes at The Agora. The Agora, as one successful ex-employee referred to it, was his “Rock-And-Roll College.”
Gary and Hank LoConti, from the beginning were trendsetters. Their dedication, intuition, and creativity lead The Agora in developing the Cleveland music industry to many firsts.
In 1968, The Cleveland Agora built the first concert venue in-house recording studio, Agency Recording Studios, to produce records, live broadcasts from the Agora stage, and radio programs in stereo.
In 1970, The LoContis opened the Agora in Columbus, OH in the old State Theatre on the Ohio State University campus, across the street from the student union. Operated and booked by Gary LoConti that year, The Agora teamed up with WNCI – FM to produce the first Agora live broadcast. The artist was Ted Nugent. That same year The Cleveland Agora was the first to broadcast live Rock-and-Roll from its stage in association with WNCR-FM Radio, “WNCR Live From The Agora.” In 1971, The Agora and WNCR broadcast concerts with Iggy Pop and the Stooges and Alice Cooper. These legendary WNCR live broadcasts from The Agora gave birth to The Agora's first weekly radio program, “Live From The Agora.” WNCR went on to become the number one progressive radio station in the U.S. On January 1, 1973, WNCR changed formats, and WMMS began to record “WMMS Live From The Agora” on Mondays and run the broadcast from WMMS on Wednesdays. WMMS soon thereafter became the number one radio station in the U.S., cementing Cleveland as the Rock-and-Roll capital of the world.
In 1973, The Agora announced its expansion from radio into television. The Agora in Columbus produced and videotaped the “Music, You’re My Mother” TV special. The first stereo rock-and-roll radio/television simulcast for national syndication in concert club history. On October 21, 1978, the first videotaped production, “Onstage at the Agora,” was broadcast live on television, featuring Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. This TV special went on to feature such acts as Todd Rundgren, Eddie Money, Meat Loaf, Ian Hunter with Mick Ronson, Iron City House Rockers, The Boyzz, Toto, and Charlie Daniels. These Emmy nominated shows were simulcast live on CBS – WJW TV and WMMS and broadcast to 300 markets in 46 states.
By converting to recorded shows with WMMS, The Agora became the first concert club in America to syndicate radio programs to emerging progressive radio markets throughout the U.S. In 1975, as the syndicated recorded concert series continued to gain popularity, The Agora started a second radio program financed by major sponsors like Sansui of Japan, titled the “New World of Jazz.” This show was kicked off by syndicating a Live recorded Ronnie Laws's concert to over 50 stations in the U.S., Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia.
In 1978, The Agora was the first concert club to use dedicated ISDN telephone lines to broadcast a live special event to 37 progressive radio markets throughout the U.S. The artist was Bruce Springsteen. In addition to The Agora radio network broadcasts, ABC's “King Biscuit Flower Hour” also ran The Agora's live radio shows nationally.
Traditions were born as “Monday Night Out at the Agora” became the most successful weekly concert event in Cleveland and famous throughout the world of rock-and-roll. The Agora's “WMMS Coffee Break Concerts” were legendary. They were broadcast live every Wednesday from 11 AM to noon featuring the hottest new local, national, and international acts.
The Agora's expansion into national and international radio and television production in the 70s and ensuing prominence inspired the LoConti's to build 12 other Agora concert clubs throughout the U.S. for a total of 13 clubs and establish Buckeye Music Center 43 miles east of the Columbus Agora. Buckeye Lake Music Center was a nationally renowned outdoor festival facility which occupied 265 acres of land with a maximum festival capacity of 60,000.
In 1979, further Agora expansion included record and film production. The Michael Stanley Band's live album, “Stage Pass”, was recorded there as well as Todd Rundgren's live double LP “Back to the Bars” in 1978. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played their infamous WMMS 10th anniversary show there in August 1978. Bruce's live show was eventually released on December 23, 2014, and became a top selling album. Hank started a record label called Agora Records and released the fourth album by Virginia-based Artful Dodger and Clevland based bands like Wild Horses and BeauCoup. The film “One Trick Pony” starring Paul Simon and featuring The B52's was produced at the Cleveland Agora.
The Agora received Columbia Records 1970 “Best Club in the Country” Award. In addition The Agora was nominated five years in a row for Billboard's “Best Club in the Country” Award and won this award in 1980. The Agora's President, Hank LoConti received Billboard's Steve Wolfe Memorial Award in 1979, presented to the individual who has contributed the most to the music entertainment industry throughout the year.
It was during the 70s that Hank started a crusade to establish the international music industry's Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1980, he gave a presentation to executives in New York, only to be told that when the Rock Hall was built, it would be in New York. He then wrote to Dick Clark to convince him that the Rock Hall belonged in Cleveland. Dick Clark wrote back that when the Rock Hall was built, it would be in Los Angeles. In 1984, Hank and Nick met with Michael Benz of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association to assist in developing a proposal to establish the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Michael vowed to do his best to field a team of Cleveland leaders and requested Hank and Nick to do the same with music industry leaders. Hank called an old friend, Norman Nite, a nationally syndicated New York disc jockey and author of the book “Rock On.” Mr. Nite was on the newly- formed National Board of the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame in New York and agreed to assist Hank with the project. Hank and Mr. Benz, along with a most distinguished lineup of professionals, rewrote the history of rock.
The Agora chain continued its growth throughout the early part of the 1980s until The Cleveland Agora suffered a fire in October 1984. In 1985, Hank gathered his partners and purchased the old WHK radio studios and auditorium in the Midtown Corridor located at 5000 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland. It was there in the WHK radio studios during 1951, that Cleveland disc jockey Allen Freed first coined the phrase “Rock-and-Roll” for the world.
At the time of the move, the Midtown Corridor Association was in its infancy, and it became a true pioneering venture to build the Agora in a neighborhood that was perceived as anything but safe. This historic building, originally opened as the Metropolitan Theater in 1912, housed the Cleveland Opera until 1929, and became the WHK Studio One in 1950. WMMS, the most famous radio station ever to broadcast Rock-and-Roll, also called this building home. After Hank's passing The Agora changed hands and is currently operated by AEG and carries on the long tradition of producing world-class entertainment and introducing new as well as established artists to Cleveland, Ohio.
To quote music industry photographer and writer Anastasia Pantsios: "Hank will be remembered by the thousands of people whose paths he crossed as someone who had a good heart, who would go out of his way to help almost anyone, and who never engaged in the underhanded and deceitful tactics so prevalent in the music business. In a scene riddled with scam artists, he was a straight shooter. He jump started the careers not only of musicians, but also his legendary crew members the 'Rowdy Roadies,' and the people who worked in booking, promotions, and ticketing in his office. Many still work in the music business today."