Genre(s) | Experimental music, rock music, pop music, etc. |
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Opened | 1987 by Michael Dorf and Louis Spitzer |
Knitting Factory Works | |
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Founded | 1989 or 1990 |
Founder | Knitting Factory |
Status | Unknown |
Country of origin | United States |
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub that was opened in New York City and that featured eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, performance art, standup comedy, and musicians who transcended the usual boundaries of rock and jazz, often experimental music. The Knitting Factory owners distributed some performances to radio stations, and around 1990 starting a radio show and the record label Knitting Factory Works. Later the founders started Knitting Factory Records in 1998.
It was founded by Michael Dorf and Louis Spitzer in 1987.
The original location was in Manhattan on Houston Street, almost equidistant between CBGB and The Bottom Line. The venue was meant to be an art gallery with a performance space and cafe, as well as a home for experimental music.
Since 1990, the Knitting Factory has sponsored the What is Jazz? Festival, a two-week long event in several locations in New York City. The event became so successful that its name was changed to the New York Jazz Festival.Knitting Factory Records was later founded in 1998.
Dorf opened a new club location in Los Angeles in 2000 under the parent company of Knitting Factory Entertainment, KnitMedia. Jared Hoffman, the founder of Instinct Records, which was acquired by Knitting Factory Entertainment in 2002, took over as CEO of the company from Dorf in 2004. In 2006 he oversaw the acquisition of concert promoter Bravo Entertainment and, in 2008, re-branded two of Bravo's clubs (one in Boise, Idaho, and another in Spokane, Washington) as Knitting Factory Concert Houses. Knitting Factory Presents then promoted a number of mainstream tours throughout the US.
In 2007 The Knitting Factory partnered with XM Satellite Radio to record and broadcast concerts from both Knitting Factory locations.