EXCLUSIVE: Sterling Venue Ventures To Open Canyon Inland Empire

The English Beat draws the crowds with great performances - Photo © 2016 Donna Balancia
The English Beat draws the crowds with great performances - Photo © Donna Balancia

By DONNA BALANCIA

Sterling Venue Ventures, owner of The Canyon brand clubs in the Los Angeles area will expand into the Inland Empire in the fourth quarter of this year, the company has announced.

The Canyon Inland Empire is expected to be the latest music venue to be opened by SVV, bringing the number of Canyon clubs the company owns and operates to six. The company has selected a location, and is currently in lease negotiations for the new space.

Bonnie Raitt at The Canyon- Photo © 2015 Donna Balancia
Bonnie Raitt with Freebo at Marty Grebb show at The Canyon – Photo © 2015 Donna Balancia

Sterling: Canyon Inland Empire Ready to Rock and Roll

“We are ready to roll and wish we could start right now,” said Lance Sterling, owner and CEO of Sterling Venue Ventures. “Once the lease is finalized we hope to be open within three months.”

Sterling, who actually has the time to enjoy some hobbies like growing avocados and coaching football, is one of the original founders of the House of Blues.

Sterling said the new, undisclosed location fills an important niche and eliminates the need for Inland Empire residents to make the long trip into the Los Angeles area to see concerts. The Inland Empire is roughly defined as Riverside and San Bernardino counties, about an hour east of Los Angeles.

Smash Mouth at The Canyon - Photo © Donna Balancia
Smash Mouth at The Canyon – Photo © Donna Balancia

Consolidating the Clubs to the Canyon Brand

Sterling Venue Ventures owns and operates The Canyon Agoura Hills, The Canyon Santa Clarita, The Canyon at The Rose in Pasadena, The Canyon at The Saban in Beverly Hills and The Canyon Concert Series at The Libbey Bowl in Ojai.  The company which made extensive renovation and owns and operates the Beverly Hills-based Saban Theatre, made some marketing maneuvers to consolidate branding of all the venues under the umbrella of the recognizable and appealing “Canyon” name.

READ AWARD WINNING STORY ON SMASH MOUTH AT CANYON

Corey Glover of Living Colour gets up close and personal with the audience at The Canyon - Photo © Donna Balancia
Corey Glover of Living Colour gets up close and personal with the audience at The Canyon – Photo © Donna Balancia

Musicians Appealing to 30+ Crowd

The strategy also helps when booking musicians and acts across multiple venues. Diverse veteran musicians including Styx, Todd Rundgren, Smokey Robinson, Paul Anka, Foreigner, Air Supply, Tower Of Power, Stone Temple Pilots, Psychedelic Furs, Kris Kristofferson and Kenny Loggins have all played Canyon venues within the past year.  The company books musicians that appeal to the over-30 crowd.

The Canyon venues put on more than 700 concerts a year.

Canyon - The Hailers photo by Balancia
Beloved local bands like The Hailers open for top names at The Canyon – Photo © Donna Balancia

Close to The Music at Canyon

What makes The Canyon unique is patrons can enjoy an intimate setting with top musicians, where they can have a meal and drinks and comfortably watch a performance. At The Canyons, no seat is further than 70 feet from the stage, the sound and lighting are top of the line, and video screens enhance rather than replace the performance.

The English Beat performs frequently at The Canyon - Photo © Donna Balancia
The English Beat performs frequently at The Canyon – Photo © Donna Balancia

Inland Empire residents are encouraged to visit: www.wheremusicmeetsthesoul.com, where, not only can they learn more about The Canyon, but will also have the opportunity to communicate directly to The Canyon management team with regard to the artists they would like to see up close and personal in the Inland Empire. For inquiries about the SVV Canyon venues and events, please contact Luanne Nast at 888-645-5006 or email Luanne@wmmts.com .