On a very cold November night, I made the trek to downtown Reno to see a popular island reggae band perform. Thankfully, there is free city parking not far away. Tickets said doors would open at 7, with the show at 8. I don't think the doors actually opened until after 7:30, and the line was 3-blocks long when I arrived around 8. As others have noted, this is a Fire Marshal's nightmare. I finally made it to the front of the line just before 9 p.m., and the bouncers were rushing us, saying the show would start at 9. It started around 9:10. I had initially tried to hang back on the first floor, but it was nearly impossible to move or to see the faraway stage, so I made my way upstairs. Now, to call this a concert venue would be generous. It's a two-level shotgun bar that happens to have sound equipment but poor acoustics. The upstairs had a pretty large ladies bathroom, though one toilet was flushing non-stop and my stall had no TP--before the show! I made my way into the upstairs bar area, where it was much easier to move about, but with only two bartenders for hundreds of people vying for drinks, I gave up and went to find a place to watch the concert. Problem is that from the upper level, you really cannot watch anything and the sound, as mentioned, isn't great. If you don't know the songs and the lyrics, you won't enjoy the show. There was at least one song that played that sounded SO familiar, but it took me several minutes to recognize it because everything was so muffled. Upstairs, there is a short metal railing with high metal stools along it. I think the owner's idea was to have the first row of concert-watchers sitting so others behind them could see, but unfortunately, this takes up more space and doesn't lower the person's profile, so those behind are farther back with no view. I felt terrible for the fans around me who were shorter than I am. There were a few TV monitors around the bar that occasionally had a live stream of the stage, but how disappointing to go to a concert and not even get to see the person who is performing? I was not surprised that the band didn't play an encore. The biggest fans couldn't even see them and vice versa. Though the tickets were inexpensive (under $40), I hope bands and their booking agents will seriously think twice about playing here. There are SO many better venues in the Tahoe area. Heck, Crystal Bay Casino is an excellent venue with a much better bar and music setup. Just do everyone a favor and don't play here. read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

I went to a show here recently and it was one of the worst live show experiences I've ever seen, no fault to the amazing artist performing. This place is understaffed and their operations is a joke. It took over an hour to get into a show here, the line was extremely long and very slow moving. There was still a very long line when the artist went on, such disrespect to the artist. Once you got to the door, you had 1 person checking ID's, 1 person checking tickets, and 1 person barely being a security guard. This unpreparedness and lack of streamlined operations is not very supportive of the artist performing. The venue appeared to be a bit run down. Women's restrooms are not well kept, no toilet paper in any stalls. The venue floors are disgustingly sticky wherever you walk. The main venue area was so packed, you can barely move, I'm pretty sure they were overcapacity. The bars were understaffed, there were only 2 bartenders covering the large second floor bar for hundreds of people and half of the time one of the bartenders was not really serving people. It took at least 30 mins to get a round of drinks. For a bar that claims that they have "one of the largest selections of craft beer on tap", they only had canned/bottled beer available. The sound is the worst I've ever heard at a music venue, you could barely understand the artist performing. There were TV's showing the performance, but they were either delayed or not working. The upstairs viewing area is very limited, if you're not standing at the balcony that overlooks the stage, you're relying on the terrible TV's. I don't think they have good management in place, this place is a joke! I will never go to a show here again! read more

If you ever want to go to a concert I suggest you go anywhere but here. I spent $70 to go and see a concert just for security to tell me that that I got scammed when I didn't and when I tried to talk to them they didn't want to they just kicked me out. I think they need new management and more pay for these people who work here because they seem really miserable read more

9.22.23: I've been to this venue several times over the years and its name has changed a handful of times due to switching of ownership. Most people would probably be more familiar if you said the old Knitting Factory. Anyways, I went for a concert and had no complaints with the sound. Bass sounded great and didn't sound blown out. It wasn't super packed so there was actually room to dance some, so that was a positive. The complaint I do have that happens on a regular basis is not utilizing the air conditioner when it starts to get hot and sweaty from everyone dancing and breathing heavier. I get businesses that want to save money but this is a complete pet peeve and puts people at risk for overheating and passing out. This is the reason I give it 3 stars. I saw The Expendables and Bumpin Uglies, who both put on excellent shows in general. The video I shared was the opener, Claire Wright, a Tahoe local. I pre-gamed elsewhere so I didn't order any alcohol from the bar and can't speak on the bar service. There is no food here. The bathroom was clean and stocked. If you're a live music lover, then it won't stop you from attending a concert wherever it may be, however, atmosphere and being comfortable are pretty important aspects when reviewing a venue. read more

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UNPROFESSIONAL AGGRESSIVE SECURITY My friends and I went to the brewhouse for an event that was hosted there. We followed the crowd to the stage not knowing you needed a wristband. No security was checking for wristbands before you go in. A few minutes being on stage a security guard tapped me and said you need to leave, before I could get my words out she pushed me multiple times until I fell to the ground. I felt attacked , I defended myself as she was over my weight limit kept pushing me . For context I'm 133lbs and she was 360lbs . A fight was not broken between me and the security guard who found it amusing to assault me. Two other security guards watched . My friend was screaming to the other two security guards to stop the fight and I QUOTE THEY SAID "we can't do anything she's a security guard she's doing her job " IVE POSTED THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEY HAVE A HISTORY OF ASSAULTING PEOPLE. I've been to many clubs before and I've always seen security just carry the customer out if they aren't complying but never ASSAULTED !!!!!!! DONT COME HERE IF YOU ARE TRYING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME THEY ARE UNPROFESSIONAL !!!!! Cops get called many times at this location read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - The bruises of when she was tossing a 133 pound girl around , pushing me to the ground - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

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I have seen a few of my favorite bands here. If they were not my favorites I'd stay far far away from this place. Constant harassment by tweakers and an extremely unhappy staff that takes it out on the patrons. The last two shows I saw there were years apart and both times it was obviously over sold. Could barely get through the crowd to the restroom or upstairs to the balcony bar. Some a hole in the pit was kidney punching fellow attendees. I hear it's closing? If so good riddance read more

This is one of the popular small venues for bands in the area. I've seen several shows here. The stage isn't huge but big enough for high energy acts to move around. The acoustics are decent on the ground floor. Be honest, you're going to patronize this business because the act they booked, not because of their signature cocktails, charming bartenders, and kind/attentive security staff. read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - Society1 - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

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Terrible security, terrible venue, if you're looking for a good time, seek elsewhere. Not welcoming in the slightest.

After seeing a few shows there I need to tell you this place is literally a shit hole. They are chronically understaffed. The drinks are way too expensive. I have no idea why the fire marshal hasn't closed the place down yet, they oversell like crazy. It's so crowded it's dangerous. The toilet stalls don't lock. There is never any toilet paper. The women end up flushing paper towels which causes toilets to flood which is why it's literally a shit hole. Brew house, do better. read more

Me and my friends went to the 2000s party and the security completely ruined it. My friend went to put our extra stuff in my car so we wouldn't lose it, and when he came back, they still refused to let him in even though his ticket was never even scanned. All they did was draw an X on his hand. The crazy part is me and my other friends had the exact same X's, and our tickets were scanned, so we got in with no problem. It made absolutely no sense. On top of that, security kept kicking people out left and right for reasons nobody understood, which only made things worse. It honestly felt like they were just making up rules as they went. We would've had way more fun if it wasn't for this whole mess. Terrible organization and unprofessional security. Save your money and avoid this place. read more

I am an avid musician and show goer. This is, without it a single doubt, the absolute worst, most horrifically managed venue I have EVER had the displeasure of paying to go to. I feel cheated, I feel scammed, and I am incredibly disappointed with how this venue operates. The upstairs sound quality is abhorrent. You can't hear any clarity in instrumentals any further back than the balcony, and vocals are muddy, even at the balcony. I hope lyrics don't matter to you because you'll struggle to hear any. This venue starts off great by marking all under 21's with X's, so they can't get drinks. This is a good policy, and standard in the industry. What isn't standard is that they lock all the under 21 crowds in the upstairs area. This causes significant overcrowding (and makes me worried that it breaks NEVADA FIRE CODE) and also prevents all but the 20 people at the balcony from seeing a single thing during the show. I provide a photo of the view of a 6'4" person wearing 2 INCH PLATFORMS, 2 people back from the balcony front. They have delayed (~1 second) TVs that shows what i'd say is 480p footage, but they stopped working for a portion of the show. I provided photo evidence. This was disappointing since 95% of the people upstairs have no view of the stage. I hope that none of the musicians I like play this venue in the future, until management fixes their policies on age segregation. As a musician myself, I would feel so disappointed to know that i played a venue where half the attendees who payed the same price as those downstairs couldn't see a single second of my performance. I would like to say that the hospitality here is great though. The staff is pleasant and the upstairs bartender on 8/19/24 was extremely friendly and accommodating and served me multiple waters, which were desperately needed to survive the extreme overcrowding due to their upstairs policy. To the staff at the Brewhouse, service staff, security staff, thank you for the work that you do. I have no quarrel with and if you and appreciate the work you do as a fellow service industry worker. To the management, I hope this criticism is eye opening and leads to discussion on how to improve your customer satisfaction. I can name several dozen venues with very similar capacity and floor space as yours has, that have much more effective ways of making sure minors don't get drinks and avoiding overcrowding, which is made worse by the lack of stage visibility from the top floor. Thank you. read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - TV that would stop working, effectively making it so no one except those at the front of the balcony could see the performance they PAID FOR - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

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I attended a concert here over the weekend and it was the worst experience I've had. The artist is not main stream, but they have a large following here in Reno. It was wayyyy over sold. I could not even move a cm. I felt completely unsafe. I highly doubt it was even legal to have that many people in that space. We ended up leaving by the third song because it was so bad. So not only did I miss out on seeing one of my favorite artists, but it was a waste of hard earned money. I will never go to a show here again. read more

I've been to about 4 shows here, and generally it's all good and what you'd expect for a small local venue! Trying to get a drink at the bar if it's more packed and people are dancing can be a bit of an experience, and definitely don't expect to talk to your group because it's LOUD. But you're there for music, not chatting! Upstairs is cool too and I actually prefer the bar up there, but know that you can only see the band right from the front. Minus one star because it is HOOTTTTT in there and I don't feel like they really run the air at all. read more

The worst acoustics and sound system I have ever experienced at a concert venue. The bar staff looked like they didn't enjoy their work. And they claim to be a brewhouse but they hardly have any beers on tap that aren't American light lagers. Mostly they have bottles of really boring beers one could get in any grocery store. Horrible venue. Avoid at all costs. I genuinely felt bad for the performers, and how the venue made it impossible for them to show off how good they are. read more

saw adam doleac in concert and it was awesome! it was a little confusing when we first arrived because when you get to the front doors there's a sign to enter through the alley. the staff are somewhat friendly. the bar area was huge -- lots to choose from; i love that they carried long drinks! decent prices for drinks too. parking is pretty much limited to street parking only. would probably come back for a concert if in the area again! read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

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So, I knew it was going to be an interesting night as we walked into the Virginia Street Brewhouse in Downtown Reno. Firstly, the hostess stamped my wrist.... With "suck it"! Lol It truly was a fantastic night! We got to see 4 bands for $15 ....it was amazing to see new artists along with our faves( Kenny Feidler and the Cowboy Killers and Colten Jesse! Our bar tender was such a hard worker! She was sporting a Kenny Feidler shirt too! I hope I tipped her enough! I really liked the vibe in here ...like the old cigarette machine just before you climbed down to the basement to use the powder room! The climb back up was tough but I did it 4 times! Thank you for providing such great venue to enjoy great musicians read more

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Worst venue of all time bouncers are dude management is rude and the owner is the worst of all don't give these people your money.

This place was nothing what I had expected. A smaller venue for the downtown area. The stage is set up up front to your left as you walk in. Open floor front half to the stage. Tables in the back half. Restrooms are down some narrow steep stairs. An older crowd, I felt kinda young. On a Sunday evening in early May I was invited by friends to catch Lez Zeppelin here. They are an all-female tribute band that perform the works of Led Zeppelin. Yes they are a must see. ID's and smart phone tickets are checked at the door. Just before 8 pm this place still had a few tables and bar seat available, more to wait he back. They had a local band play for an hour as an opener. When Lez came on stage most of the standing crowd walked up to the stage enjoy the show. The stage set is great. Nice size for easily a larger than 4 piece band and at a level that you aren't looking way up all thru the performance. There seemed to be plenty of wait staff and security for the event. The crowd was very tame. Everyone there to savor the great music and a few adult beverages. Parking- you'll need to use a nearby casino ramp, or we parked at the county courthouse and walked a few blocks. read more

Virginia Street Brewhouse - Lez Zeppelin - Speakeasies Near Me - Reno, Nevada

They have great bands but unfortunately have one of the worst sound systems I have ever experienced.

We attended Taylor Swift night here on 4/19 and two of our friends were roofied. We're all very cautious & safe with our drinks and the only 2 people in our group who were roofied were the 2 who went up to the bar alone. We're pretty positive they were roofied by the bartender. I'd avoid this place if I were you. We tried to tell the bouncer and they said they couldn't do anything about it. Used to be a fun place back in the day, but now it doesn't even seem safe. We also tried to buy a VIP table, when we asked they said $300, so when we went to purchase they said "it's now $450". Seems to be some pretty sketchy business dealings. read more

We most recently attended a concert on 7/7. The venue was awful! The staff was incredibly rude from security to bartenders. We were told that even though the show was sold out, they were still selling tickets at the door, which definitely created a capacity issue. Inside was over 100 degrees with poor to no air circulation, and the stairs were blocked off on one side which definitely creates a code issue. When we went up to the bar to ask for an iced water, we were charged. When we clarified if we heard the bartender correctly, she snatched the water out of my boyfriend's hand and yelled at him! This venue has so much potential, but won't be back until significant changes are made to the venue and to staff. read more

website messed up on what ages could get in so my friends and I couldn't go. now this wouldn't have been an issue if handled better the staff was incredibly rude saying they couldn't "hold my hand for me" when all I was asking was who to talk to or where to go for a refund. after I finally got my answer it turns out the answer they gave was wrong so I had to ask someone else who never got back to me so ultimately I just wasted 50$ never going back again read more

Band (Bad Religion) was great as always! Venue wasn't so great. Brought my 18 year old son and he had to stay in this little area upstairs, couldn't be on the floor downstairs even after they marked his hands with an X and put a bracelet on him. Super crappy experience for him even though the venue says 18 and up. He never would have gone if we knew the situation there - basically watching the band on a TV screen. Just say it is 21 and over if this is how you treat the under 21s. The staff was friendly enough, but not enough people working the bar, especially the upstairs bar. In addition, way oversold. There was no room to move downstairs at all. Not going back. read more

As a bar idk how this place operates, and I never will in the future. This place was an atrocious concert venue for anyone under 21. They send you upstairs where only a select amount of people can see the performer they paid for, but if you're not in that group than you have the option to watch the concert you paid for through a 480p tv that cuts out or is too bad of quality to decipher ANYTHING on the screen. I wouldn't be as mad but this place is a scam since they never put that information anywhere on the page like a bunch of snakes. Big word of advice, don't go here for an artist you like if you're underage. Just stay home and watch it on your phone since you'll gain nothing from here. read more

Performer was good but staff was rude and under 21 was forced to stand on the balcony.

Security was helpful and understanding when I asked if I could run my merch back to my hotel room- I really appreciated not having to hold my merch all night long. For people complaining about the sound- that's on the person running the sound board. I saw three bands last night. I don't know who was running the sound for the first two bands, but it was horrid. The headliner tours with their own top notch sound guy and it sounded stellar. If the openers used the house guy, maybe you get what you pay for? It's within easy walking distance from where I was staying, and I had no problems. If I find myself in town again for a show, I'd return. The only thing keeping this from a five star review is the stage height. I've been to 100's of shows in small venues and have never seen a stage that high. It was probably fine for the people in back; it sucked for the people up front. read more

Show tonight was way oversold out. I've been to shows before sold out when it was the knitting factory and this was absolutely ridiculous. Could not move anywhere. Packed front to back, upstairs, bathrooms downstairs was overflowing with people. Impossible to move. Had to leave early just couldn't take it. Waste of $100 on tickets. Sell less tickets or get a bigger venue read more

Friendly staff and good drinks but the sound quality wasn't so great for Metalachie. We went back for Charlie Crockett and it was much better. Plenty of bathrooms! read more

I just saw Fear Factory and Orbit Culture there. First time there, and it was packed. Some of the Staff were nice, others weren't, but that's normal for music venues. The Bathroom downstairs was clean which was really unexpected for a music venue. They're usually horrible. I never made it to the Bar because again, the show was packed. The Sound System was great. Loud, but clear. I don't know why people have bitched so much about the sound system? Maybe because local bands have different people on the Soundboard? The National Acts sounded amazing. Tight space for the show, but bearable. My only gripe is I wished the stage was maybe two feet higher, cause it's really hard to see the Bands if you're in the middle or back of the crowd and aren't 6' 3." The alley at their "Entrance" is kind of confusing and sketchy late at night, but all in all, to see good National Acts close to home, I'll put-up with a little aggravation. I have read that they don't run the A/C for shows in the Summer? That's a deal-breaker for me. I can't do heat exhaustion. I'll just have to go to shows when it is cold or cool outside, there. read more

Absolutely atrocious sound system. If you didn't know the song being sung, good luck trying to figure out any of the lyrics. The bass was blown out - all you could hear is hints of rhythm and booming white noise. We went to see Living Legends last night but the sound was so awful during Brother Ali's show we left BEFORE Living Legends even got onstage. I asked the people at the door if the artists were responsible for the sound or if the venue was and they said it was the 'sound guy' for the place. So, get a new sound guy. I've seen Brother Ali and LL in person at other venues and it's an absolute shame what this venue did to Ali's performance. We were mid-pack on the floor. The guy at the door asked where I was standing - shouldn't you be able to stand anywhere and actually hear words coming from the artist's mouth? Will not return. Waste of $75. read more

Seriously had the best time here last night. We weren't expecting much because of reading the bad reviews, but have to say for us the bad reviews were unfounded. Front door staff, security and bar staff were all friendly and fun people. Thanks for a great time. read more

Honestly this isn't the worst venue I've been to. I went to Emo Night. This is located in Downtown Reno right next to the Cal Neva. I mean to the Emo Night event playing Emo music to the venue I wouldn't consider it being bad. I mean if you said you put someone's wedding in there that be a whole different story. First off doors opened at 7 PM and we arrived there about 20 min til 7. -0.5 I parked at the Cal Neva parking garage because it was free. We were told the line started at the back alleyway of the venue. Thank goodness that there were people in line before we got there because not going to lie I would say it's pretty shady. I would highly recommend that you'd bring a long sleeve or a sweater or something because it was so cold in the alleyway. At 7 pm the door did open and there was security doing frisk which is reasonable because I wouldn't want people bringing weapon into the venue anyways. Then we had another person scan our tickets while walking through the door. From where we were standing in line waiting 20 min was not that bad. I bought a sweater right when I got to stand where they were selling clothings and whatnot. Best $40 I have ever spent so I didn't have to walk in the cold on the way back to the car. We were upstairs at the bar drinking and listening to the classic Emo music. The price of the drinks at the venue honestly didn't seem that bad. I didn't really do the drinking because I was DD. 0.25 I wished there were more seats at the bar. -1.0 I had to go to the bathroom and the only bathroom was in the basement and only a several stalls for female. I wished there were bathroom upstairs too. The bartender were actually pretty cool minus they were hella busy they repeatedly checked up on my friends and I to make sure we were ok. Let's be totally honest: would I ever go to the venue if they ever hold a wedding event or when the lights are on where I can see everything. Probably not. But would I come here for concert or Emo night when there's barely any lights on YES. The saying "you pay for what you get" I paid $22 per person which isn't bad. Had the price been $50 per person I wouldn't come back to this venue. Overall rating is 3.25. read more

Terrible venue, not worth your time or money, management is greedy and even though chains were required they would not allow me a refund for tonights concert. I cannot drive there safely from Sacramento and they are laughing at me on fb. Thats inexcuseably rude. I hope they choke on my $100 worth of worthless tickets. Watch out! This venue will not work with you if Hwy 80 is closed due to snow. Im disabled, how am I supposed to handle waiting 5 hours to get thru snow from Sacramento to Reno. My broom is out of commission. This venue is WRONG! DO NOT BUY ONE THING MORE FROM THESE SHYSTERS. read more

Definitely my least favorite of the small music venues in town. Most of the staff were rude and pushy. The place is cold & smelly. Bathrooms were disgusting. Sound was horrible. Will think twice before returning read more

My girlfriend and I went and saw Strangelove (tribute to Depeche Mode) here last night. Great show for sure. But, that has nothing to do with the venue. The front ID check was easy, security check was easy, ticket scan was easy. The crowd size was just about right. No issues yet. Band=10 Sound system=2 Bar staff=1 Management=0 Beer selection=2 This is my first time here. I thought it was a brewhouse and a venue for entertainment. While the entertainment box was checked YES, the brewhouse was a BIG FAT NO. I laughed when I saw the list. I recommend go to BEER NV if you want that. The bar staff was a joke. 3-4 deep to get a drink. Only 1 POS (point of sale/register) was working and 2 bartenders for a now growing crowd. While they did bring in 2 security guys to help, it only seemed like it only slowed the process down as they were now in the way of the bartenders and backed up the POS system. This place reminded me of a comedy show or an episode of "Bar Rescue". For this visit to the bar took over 20 min to have an order taken and while part of the order was a Blue Moon beer, the bartender did not even know it was in the cooler right behind him. The second visit was much faster at 10 min. But we ordered a "Double" and he did a "single". He did figure out his error and just added the second shot to fill the drink cup to the rim with some just spilling onto the bar top. The speakers could use a bit of repair or replacement as you could tell they have been overdriven too many times. Or maybe the mixer was not tuned correctly or no sound checks were made. The management team should also look into hiring more staff and conduct training as to make the experience more enjoyable. Due to the issues stated above everyone loses, bad management causes profits to go down by driving customers away. It drove us away from the bar and I heard others complain as well. Maybe this was an isolated incident, maybe not. We might come back if we really really really want to see a band bad enough to endure the rest of this place. read more

Literally worst experience and venue I've ever been to. Drove up from Sacramento to see a touring band (Clutch) and it was so packed and hot, no where to go and sit, no where to be outside without not being allowed in, this has to be a code or fire violation. Just such a horrible experience. read more

I was really disappointed the club was so hot no ventilation over sold and the floor was so dirty that your shoes were sticking to the floor! Was a real bummer because I love DSO but we left at break it was so uncomfortable! read more

We were there last night for the concert it's ridiculous how they run the place, the speakers are lousy if you really want to listen to them people on stage you really couldn't, if I could I would give him a zero, If you wanna listen to music don't go there there's got to be other places take it from me read more

Protoje show was awesome but one of the bartenders was super rude the whole night for no reason for that you guys get one star let the bartender know to at least be decent people not that hard if you don't like your job do something else read more

The worst concert venue we've ever experienced. We don't recommend it at any price. We paid $43 a ticket for 7 of us, but I'm not sure I'd pay more than $5 to see anyone here. The owner of this weird place didn't provide enough seats for the attendees, and blamed the production company for this. The bartenders were friendly. read more