Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Friday, March 29, 2024

High Dive celebrates three years of live music, comedy & food trucks

When indie-rock giant Built to Spill decided to perform in Gainesville last October, it wanted an intimate, scaled-back show. So Pat Lavery, owner of local booking company Glory Days Presents, booked them at High Dive.

“That’s probably my favorite show we’ve had,” Lavery said. “It was really cool to have them in our building.”

Narrowing down a favorite High Dive show is no small feat. The venue, which celebrates its third anniversary this weekend, has a staying power that’s owed to its mass appeal: Acts ranging from The Lemonheads to Aaron Carter to Surfer Blood to the Whitest Kids U’Know to Manchester Orchestra have appeared there in the past. 

It regularly hosts food truck rallies, stand-up acts, screenings and art shows. 

Lavery said the venue’s reputation for its high-quality sound system, simplistic setup and consistency has kept it thriving. 

“There’s no one that’s putting the care into sound and production that we are at High Dive,” Lavery said. “And there’s no one booking the amount of live music we are on a regular basis.”

The Southwest Second Avenue space, a medium-sized venue that holds several hundred people, has seen a lot of turnover in the past few decades. In the 1990s, it was a club called the Covered Dish.

 In 2004, former coffee shop and music venue Common Grounds bought the space. When Common Grounds announced it was closing in 2011, Lavery organized a new group of owners to purchase the club and keep it open.

“I’ve been playing in that room for 20 years,” said Chris Wollard of Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves. “It’s excellent. Gainesville’s just a little town, and (High Dive’s) got everything we need. That’s why we keep playing there. It’s just a nice, comfortable place.” 

Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves will perform at High Dive alongside Ones to Blame, Gris Gris Boys and Made Ready as part of the venue’s third-anniversary weekend. 

Doors open Saturday at 9 p.m. Cover is $6.

[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 7/17/2014 under the headline "High Dive celebrates 3 years of live music, comedy & food trucks"]

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox
Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.