{"id":533398,"date":"2026-01-22T00:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/533398\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T00:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:56:12","slug":"popular-tempe-nightclub-darkstar-theater-closing-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/533398\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Tempe nightclub Darkstar Theater closing this month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1240\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/darkstar-tempe-opening-mill-avenue-shady-park-scott-price.webp.jpeg\" class=\"article-thumbnail-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"The entrance to Darkstar Theater in downtown Tempe.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDarkstar in downtown Tempe will close its doors at the end of Janaury.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin Leatherman<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/location\/darkstar-theater-13546826\/\">Darkstar Theater<\/a>, the popular downtown <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/tag\/tempe\/\">Tempe <\/a>nightclub and music venue, will close Jan. 31 after nearly four years as a hub for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/tag\/edm\/\">EDM <\/a>fans.<\/p>\n<p>The two-story Mill Avenue venue is located inside the historic Tempe National Bank building, which the city of Tempe is in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/music\/this-popular-tempe-nightclub-and-music-venue-is-reportedly-closing-40634733\/\">process of purchasing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In an announcement posted to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTyXw7Iktc8\/?hl=en\">social media<\/a> on Wednesday, Darkstar states it decided not to renew its lease amid the pending sale. \u201cDespite our best efforts, we were unable to make it work long term,\u201d the announcement read in part.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar also states that all DJ events scheduled for February and beyond are moving to other local clubs, including shows produced by Relentless Beats.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"674\" width=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/darkstar-theater-tempe-new-lobby-bar-the-floozies.webp.jpeg\" alt=\"Lasers shine over the dance floor at Tempe nightclub Darkstar Theater during an EDM show.\" class=\"wp-image-40041514\"  \/>Lasers light up the dance floor at Darkstar Theater in Tempe during an EDM show.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar Theater\/Relentless Beats<\/p>\n<p>The announcement did not specify where those shows will land, though it says additional details will be shared in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>More than a dozen Relentless Beats-promoted events were booked at Darkstar through May, including gigs by Camoufly, Drezo and Ookay.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar closure comes as Tempe officials move forward with plans to purchase the 114-year-old Tempe National Bank building and an adjacent historic property from Calgary-based company Wexford Developments.<\/p>\n<p>The Tempe City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 8 to authorize the purchase.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"681\" width=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769043372_59_darkstar-theater-tempe-new-lobby-bar.webp.jpeg\" alt=\"The exterior of Darkstar Theater along Mill Avenue in Tempe.\" class=\"wp-image-40041512\"  \/>Darkstar Theater in Tempe.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar Theater owner Scott Price, who also owns Mill Avenue clubs C.A.S.A. Tempe and Sunbar, stated earlier this month he supports the potential deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wholly support the sale of these buildings so they can be protected and become new attractions for our downtown,\u201d Price stated.<\/p>\n<p>Phoenix New Times was unable to reach Price for additional comment on the venue\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar Theater debuted in 2022 after Tempe EDM hotspot Shady Park, also owned by Price, ceased booking shows amid a legal dispute with a neighboring senior-living development.<\/p>\n<p>The nightclub quickly drew local EDM fans and hosted shows by DJs and producers such as Gabriel &amp; Dresden, Mark Farina and Elohim.<\/p>\n<p>Darkstar thanked its fans and patrons for their support in Wednesday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese past four years have been an amazing ride. We are so grateful for every artist, staff member and patron that have made it all possible,\u201d the announcement read. \u201cThank you for dancing with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Darkstar in downtown Tempe will close its doors at the end of Janaury. Benjamin Leatherman Darkstar Theater, the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":533399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,97044,1589,26228,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-533398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-openings-closings","12":"tag-phoenix","13":"tag-tempe","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115936034421144228","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}