ORLANDO, Fla. – A new venue at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is giving live music lovers a whole new vibe.
Judson’s Live features everything from jazz to country music and bourbon to brunch.
Jack and Jacob Kaiser were the opening act of Judson’s Live earlier this year. Judson’s Live is named after their grandfather, the late jazz musician Judson Green, who was also a former president of Walt Disney World and a board member at the Dr. Phillips Center.
“It’s kind of a full circle moment for us, just because as kids our grandfather, Judson, had such a big influence on us musically,” Jacob Kaiser said. “He really introduced us to jazz, but it also kind of speaks to the way in which Jack and I are branching out into our own styles of music and our own facets of composition and musicianship.”
The two brothers returned this summer for nearly five weeks as part of a new Artist in Residency Program at Judson’s Live to rehearse and connect in a place that has deep connections to their family. In addition to hosting new as well as well-known local, national and international artists, Judson’s Live also features different genres of music, including country, funk and dance, R&B, jazz and more.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Foster Cronin, the vice president of Programming and Education at the Dr. Phillips Center, said people should notice the attention to detail when they walk into the new venue.
“We did a number of years where we toured different music clubs from some of the great cities,” Cronin said. “One of them was Dizzy’s up in New York with Jazz at Lincoln Center and they took very good care to figure out what was the best way to make this an intimate and warm place with a lot of elements that make it look extremely classy and like you’re in a big city like New York or Chicago or L.A., some of those great listening rooms.”
Cronin says the design was also created with acoustics in mind.
“They really wanted to make it so that everything was amplified and everybody heard the same thing from the stage so it creates this really intimate closeness with the artist that you will not get at any of the other venues here at the Dr. Phillips Center,” Cronin said.
With seating for about 150 guests, Judson’s Live also offers a scratch kitchen and impressive bar with bourbon and craft cocktails.
“One of the greatest elements of Judson’s is the food and beverage. It’s a lot of light bites, some of which include octopus if you’re feeling very adventurous, they also have some really, really delicious flatbreads and everything like that,” Cronin said. “You’re supposed to feel very, very relaxed in here while you know, you’re eating delicious food and enjoying a little cocktail, but then experiencing music that you’ve never heard before, possibly, or discovering something new. That’s the beauty of this whole place.”
What’s next for Judson’s Live:
Judson’s Live features a rotating brunch series, wine tastings and both regional and internationally-acclaimed artists.
In addition, plans are already underway to create a welcoming reception area before entering the new venue.
News 6 got a sneak peek at some of the concept art for what that will look like in the future.
For more information about upcoming shows, click here to visit the venue’s website.
Check out every episode of Riff On This in the media player below: