Regent Theatre in DTLA sets first show date

Since 2012, downtown L.A. residents and fans of Mitchell Frank’s Echo Park club empire have wondered when - or if - the Regent Theatre would finally open.

The exact date that its doors will part to the public is still uncertain, but the venue now has its first show lined up.

The venue’s promoters Spaceland Presents have booked the experimental Danish pop artist MØ for an Oct. 16 show at the Regent. Tickets go on sale this Friday; the show is all-ages.

Frank, whose club nights and venues like Spaceland and the Echo helped redefine the L.A. indie music scene, had eyed the Old Bank District theater since 2006. He took over the room in 2012 but soon faced myriad building code and construction delays.

In the meantime, downtown was labeled “America’s Next Great City” by GQ magazine and, spurred by the opening of the Ace Hotel and its renovated Theatre at the Ace, further became L.A.’s newest hub for music, fashion and nightlife.

Regent’s promoters said in a statement that many more show announcements are impending. Frank told The Times in February that “I want locals to be coming once a week. We’re going to be competing with billion-dollar entities nearby, so we’re going to have to be creative and make locals feel welcome.”

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