Music & Event Management, Inc. (MEMI) announced today the new music venue at The Banks in Cincinnati will be called The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center. Unique in design and capacity, the $27 million state-of-the-art facility will be unparalleled to any other music venue in the region.
Designed to fill the community’s need for a year-round, flexible music venue, The ICON will feature a general admission main floor and two balconies, and will be able to host multiple configurations for indoor concerts up to 4,500 capacity, all year long. With an adjustable capacity, the new venue will allow for intimate, connected experiences between fans, their favorite artists and their peers. The ICON’s maximum capacity is significantly larger than any other indoor performance venue of its type in the region.
Plans for The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center also include an outdoor stage for concerts and festivals in the adjoining park adjacent to the venue. The outdoor space will host events for up to 8,000 people during the summer months.
The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center will complement the ever-growing MEMI family of managed and promoted venues, which currently includes Riverbend Music Center, PNC Pavilion, Rose Music Center at The Heights, The Taft Theatre and The Ballroom at the Taft.
“The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center is intended to fill a gap in the market and meet the needs of today’s touring artists and their fans,” said Mike Smith, CEO of MEMI. “With more artists touring today than ever before, it will be MEMI’s priority to bring a diverse mix of these aspiring performers, representing virtually every genre of live entertainment. The ICON will establish Cincinnati as a must-play market for ALL artists.”
Andrew J. Brady (1915-2004) graduated from Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music in 1938. He later taught music at Rothenberg Elementary in Over-The-Rhine and became the music director at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. His concerts, annual Bandwagon variety shows, and football halftime shows were legendary. As a working musician, Brady played in area jazz bands and was a regular in the Beverly Hills Supper Club band. His concerts in Hamilton County and Cincinnati Parks were a fixture of summer.
Additionally, he conducted a summer youth orchestra sponsored by the Cheviot Westwood Kiwanis Club, and gave voluntary music lessons to adults who had never played an instrument. Mr. Brady was married 60 years to his late wife Frances. They have two daughters, Susan and Patricia.
The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center has been made possible, in large part, thanks to the generosity of the Fifth Third Foundation; the Harold C. Schott Foundation, Francie and Tom Hiltz, trustees; and the John J. and Mary R. Schiff Foundation.
Consulting members of the venue name development team include GBBN Architects, Messer Construction, CMTA Engineers, Inc., The Kleingers Group, THP Limited, Cini-Little Harvey Marshall Berling Associates, Dynamix Engineering and WA Architects.