House of Blues shows off bigger and flashier venue in Anaheim

Credit: John Nguyen/Nerd Reactor

House of Blues has closed up its Sunset and Downtown Disney venues and is opening up in a new Southern California flagship location at the Anaheim GardenWalk. Nerd Reactor had the chance to preview the new location and get a sneak peek at the main concert hall, The Parish, new Restaurant & Bar and the Foundation Room and VIP club.

I’ve had many fond memories of the House of Blues on Sunset and at Downtown Disney, and I was sad to see the venues close down. I remember catching Utada Hikaru at the Sunset location during her “In the Flesh” 2010 tour. It was a memorable experience, especially her “Passion” performance from Kingdom Hearts II. I was also captivated when I saw Lindsey Stirling, the hip hop violinist, performed at the Downtown Disney location.

Credit: John Nguyen/Nerd Reactor

Now let’s look forward to the future. The venue is still under construction, and we had to wear a hard hat during the preview tour. The event started with a 10-story crane moving the four-ton steel water tower on top of the new House of Blues.

Credit: John Nguyen/Nerd Reactor

Confetti was blasted into the sky, and the tour commenced as we got to check out the 44,000 square foot facility. (It’s twice the size of the former Downtown Disney location.) The location will have four different areas for entertainment.

Credit: John Nguyen/Nerd Reactor

The big performances will take place in the main concert hall, which will hold 2,200 concert goers compared to 1,000 at the former Downtown Disney location and 1,500 at the former Sunset location.