The Bluestone

If I can give 0 stars I would! This review is based on the security team of last night’s event. Morgan page and Borgeous show. Your security team member named Sean grabbed my husband by the back of the neck ripped his hoodie for sitting on the couch by the woman’s restroom. Sean gave no warning. Just immediately handled the situation inappropriately. I also witnessed him push another man through the double doors and this man fell and they continued to hit him while on the ground. Then they closed the doors so no one else could witness the brutality taking place behind doors. I will peruse further action to see Sean fired if this does not get resolved.

Horrible place. Over-​priced for no reason and the staffs are rude, unprofessional and in my opinion racist.

There are few things in life that never fail to make me happy: good Asian food, sleep, my boyfriend, EDM…
Well, most of those, I don’t really get in Columbus, but I definitely get a lot of good EDM shows thanks to Bluestone! I’ve only been here twice so far (once for Madeon, and last night for Above&Beyond. Shameless plug — Above&Beyond is easily one of the best shows I have ever been to, and I don’t even care that I was out until 2am on a Sunday night and had to be at school at 8am for class the next day), but I have left completely satisfied both times.
From what I hear, Bluestone is actually a church during the day, but they do an amazing job transforming it into a rave scene at night. There’s the general downstairs dance floor that can get packed pretty easily, but they also have an upstairs VIP area that’s much less crowded and only $ 5 – 10 extra in ticket price! Under most circumstances, I’d say the general admission area is fine, although for big names (like Above&Beyond), it’s totally worth the extra cost to get upstairs — the lower level was so filled that you couldn’t dance without bumping into everyone next to you, and it definitely got a bit hard to breathe towards the end.
I do like the venue size and speaker system here much better than at Sway, although Sway does win in terms of convenience of location (being right in the Short North area). However, the music just reverberates much more crisply, and they have a good bass such that they don’t need to make up for power with volume. I often have issues with multi-​day hearing deficiencies after spending a night at Sway, but haven’t had that issue here! Plus, the dance floor is just bigger, so you’re more likely to be able to find room to dance, but the venue is nevertheless small enough that you still get a really good view of the DJ and stage.
I think Bluestone and I are going to become very well-​acquainted with each other soon. They offer essentially everything I ask for in an EDM show, and at a very good price too! Can’t wait to see what artists they’ll host in the future!

HORRIBLE PLACE. rude staff, manager kicked my friend and I out for absolutely no reason…

This venue was really beautiful, and the sound quality was great. The drinks were over-​priced which I’m assuming changes depending on what kind of show it is. I was there for RL Grime. The service was friendly, but I really think the drink prices should be lowered– especially if a concert is going to be age 16+. Being around that many teenagers in glow sticks calls for a few extra.

We do not have enough good things to say about The Bluestone and their staff. Sarah Downs was absolutely wonderful to work with. From working with me very early on to keep our budget in mind, letting me come in the venue throughout our year leading up to the wedding with friends and family to take a look/​discuss decorating ideas, answering alllll my questions honestly and promptly, giving me advice and recommendations, always being available… and going above and beyond on the wedding day. I had a lot of extra lace that we didn’t have a chance to use with decorations. While I was busy with hair/​makeup/​photos and had completely moved on from any decorating, Sarah used that extra lace on our head table for the reception, on the buffet for dinner, and maybe other places… and reused our cocktail hour flowers… it pulled everything together even more beautifully than I had imagined. Plus, when I needed double-​sided tape, Jess (another Bluestone planner) ran out to CVS and got it for me… literally within minutes. It’s those «little» details that really set Sarah and The Bluestone apart.
During the reception, one of the staff members really stood out — Debbie. She was so energetic, fun and helpful. The moment my hand didn’t have a drink in it, Deb was bringing me (and all my family/​bridal party!) a new one. She was so fun, and multiple people commented on her energy and speediness!
The venue is breathtaking. It speaks for itself. The convenience of using the building all day was so nice. We could leisurely get ready, hang out, eat and drink. I was relaxed, comfortable, and completely trusted the staff to ensure everything was how we discussed. Our wedding was perfect — in large part due to The Bluestone, Sarah Downs and the rest of the staff. If you’re looking for a wedding venue in Columbus (especially if you want ceremony/​reception in the same venue), you should absolutely go with The Bluestone.

I have been to The Bluestone twice now, once for a wedding, and a second time for a concert. I enjoyed both experiences with the only negative being that you have to walk upstairs from the main area to get to the restroom.
For the wedding there was an open bar… so the drink prices were great from my perspective. For concerts I am not sure if the prices change based on the performer but I had no complaints. $ 6 for a 19oz Dales Pale Ale… fantastic deal as far as I am concerned!
What is also cool is once you have a tab open at a bar, you can go to any bar in the place and get your drinks on that tab. Its a nice feature.

Old church converted to a concert venue. Stained glass intact. Amazing sound system. Really this place has amazing sound in every corner of the place. The balcony is one level so seeing the show from behind folks is tough. The thing I like about this place other than the top flight sound system is that it is also a concert venue you could bring mom and dad to. There are comfortable seats in the bar and along the edges of the venue, and some of the cleanest and newest bathrooms I have ever seen in a concert venue.
Great venue for meeting the bands as we found out — even with all the girls waiting around sucking their thumbs (true story — there were a few girls doing this to get the band’s attention — lol).

This place is seriously cool.
As you can probably tell, it used to be a church. Which seems A BIT sacrilegious, but I still stand that it is seriously cool.
Inside, the walls are covered with concert artwork, which is all for sale.
One annoying factor is that they lack a water fountain, and won’t give you free cups of water. But other than my dire thirst on account of not being willing to pay for anything to quench it, my experience there was good! I was there for a concert, and the sound was great and everything went smoothly. It was in the «sanctuary,» and you could sit in the floor area, in the balcony, and in the bar area in the back.
Overall it’s just a really unique venue [even the bathrooms are cool], look at their events for something interesting and check it out!

Beautiful but the main band sounded horrible. I would almost blame the venue because after talking to others for other concerts they had the same expierence. I have seen the band before and the opening bands sounded fine. But when the main band up the sound went way up. It was so loud for the main group (Dwight yoakam) it was painful and not as understandable. This needs addressed.

What a great venue. I love re-​purposed old buildings and this is a beautiful church redone into a beautiful venue. As I was talking to a friend, we both agreed that this place reminds of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
I was here last night to see some friends play in a country band. Now, country music isn’t really my thing, but. I hadn’t seen the boys in awhile and I’ve never been here so it was a no-​brainer.
The place is beautiful. They’ve turned the sanctuary into a great performance space; there’s ample bar space, seats scattered thoughtfully throughout the periphery of the space, and the sound system is high-​quality. I got the opportunity to hang out with some of the staff after the show and they are just as awesome off-​the-​clock as they are on.
Oh, and did you know it’s haunted? Love me a good ghost story and we got an impromptu ghost tour last night. Fantastic!

Great old church renovated into a concert venue = A-​OK concert venue for smaller crowds.
So, I think the Bluestone has 7 bars. One on the patio, 3 on the first floor and 3 on the second floor. Getting a drink will NOT be a problem. What is a problem is the acoustics particularly upstairs. The left side of the balcony completely distorts any music being played downstairs. Surprisingly, The right side upstairs is fine.
The bathrooms upstairs are gorgeous and have really cool sinks! Strange that they’re so upscale where other parts of the building haven’t been upgraded in the same way.
Catering and bar staff are friendly and efficient. Security staff seemed useless. For large events, they put porta-​johns on the patio; classy. Ironically, they smelled better compared to the hoard of smokers out there.
Overall, a versatile and comfortable venue.
I can’t say I’d seek out an event here. Like, I wouldn’t host my wedding here, but for an occasional concert, not bad, not bad at all, just avoid the balcony left side.

The Bluestone is a great place to throw a party. I’ve been to Trauma and more recently the CYP Wine Around The World event (thanks to Unilocal for the comps) The main room is impressive but it gets crowded fast. It’s a fun place to wander when all the rooms are open.
I can’t really tell what the plan is supposed to be for live music, it seems to function better for other kinds of events. They have some technical challenges that make it tricky to do shows in there. If i was going put bands on stage I would want to rent extra lighting.
There’s tons of parking in back and the staff is extremely friendly. The Bluestone has its quirks, but it’s a solid event space.

The space itself is actually really lovely. It’s much larger than you might expect as well. Unfortunately the booking pretty much sucks. I recently saw Lucero here, but that was put on by rumba café. Peaches also played here, and there is a decent DJ once in a while, but other than that, this space could be put to better use than it is. Bathrooms are always gross too, albeit really large.

The venue is extremely cool with the stain glass and woodwork. Not being from Columbus, I’m always nervous about parking. There’s no worries about that here as they have a large lot right behind the building.
The staff we interacted with were friendly. I didn’t notice the drink prices as described by others as we only order one drink which was $ 5.
I would definitely go to future events held at The Bluestone!

This is a beautiful space, but each time I’m in there I notice a few things that could be improved.
First and foremost is signage — if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll miss it, especially at night, and parking is poorly marked.
There’s nothing around the venue if you’re looking for a place to go afterwards, or a place to meet beforehand.
As others have pointed out, the lack of wi-​fi options is a problem, especially when running an event that uses a lot of social media.
Drink prices are nuts. $ 8 for a tiny martini in a plastic sippy-​cup? Seriously?
That said, it’s an incredibly atmospheric venue and the converted church is just a beautiful space. It just hurts because it feels like this place could be the #1 spot in Columbus with just a few tweaks.

Wow, some seriously harsh reviews for a beautiful event space.
I’m going to start with a little story. I live in Cincinnati and there’s a beautiful church here right near The University of Cincinnati that was shut down. Later on it was reopened … as an Urban Outfitters. I kid you not. Looks like a Church on the outside, horrible bland shopping on the inside. It makes me so sad, especially around the holidays. I’m not religious at all, but event Jesus and Santa and all of Santa’s little elves cry a little bit at this one.
So I’m a little weary of churches being reopened as other things, but Bluestone is fantastic! What a space. Dual-​levels and a great view of the stage from wherever you’re standing. The sound was fantastic throughout and I could hear everything perfectly. This is the right way to do an old space — add something wonderful to the community.
Plus, they have tons and tons of rock posters throughout the area hanging on walls wherever you go — any of which you can buy at the main office. Love it!
Now, I was there for a private event so I didn’t feel the wrath of the drink prices but I saw a menu and they do seem high. Ah well.
It seems a lot of people had problems with one show. Give it another chance, my friend. I only had one experience and loved my time there. This one makes Jesus give a thumbs up.

One of Columbus’s première event spaces.
Converted from an old church this place oozes with character for any type of event. I’ve been here for concerts, fundraisers, daytime luncheons and more and each time has it’s own unique but still appropriate feel.
The staff has been fantastic to work with from an event planning perspective and the bartenders have generally been pretty nice.
One thing I don’t understand though is why their alcohol markup is so high. Whoa!
You can usually order food from the side dining/​bar area in the left corner of the building (when you’re facing the stage,) although I’d recommend eating beforehand if you come to any event here.
Acoustics aren’t bad and the best view in the house is on the balcony watching the stage.
See this place all decked for an event (including the Great Room (complete with a bar and massive stained glass window) and you’re in for a real treat. Absolutely beautiful!

The Bluestone (or rather the building that houses The Bluestone) has a lot of untapped potential. Some of this is just out of the hands of the owners — for instance, the location for this style of venue is just awful. Nothing that stays open late surrounds The Bluestone and it’s nearly impossible to rely on COTA to get you there after dark, let alone back home. You would think that The Bluestone would rope in people with a great parking option! But sadly, parking is expensive — expect to pay $ 5-​$ 10 depending on the event.
When this church was renovated to become a club/​bar/​venue — no less than 4 separate bar areas were built inside. All of them beautiful, all of them expensive. $ 7 for a Jack and Coke? I wanted to look classy and not strut around with a tall boy of PBR, but my pocketbook couldn’t afford the drinks I wanted. But wait, you’re going to charge me $ 5 for a tall boy of PBR? Well shit, guess I’m not drinking the rest of the night!
I love the current exhibit of Rock Posters hung throughout this old church, and I would love to see The Bluestone venture out into the art world a bit more. Perhaps a quarterly art exhibit bringing in some big names from around the United States (or even go global)! You have the potential to become an alternative to the Wex — focusing on great art and great music. But right now you’re just a sub-​par music venue with pricey drinks.

I consider my first Bluestone foray a big success. There are multiple bars within this venue. Line really long at the one you opened your tab? Go to a different one! You can access your tab at any of the multiple (I counted at least three while I was there) bars no problem. The space is well set-​up for lots of people, with its multiple floors and, yeah, I’m going to talk about it, the great bathroom situation.
The catering is pretty ok. I mean, you’re not coming here to eat anyway, you’re coming here for an event or to drink. And I like that the multiple rooms also lend it to being a space for artists. I am by no means an expert on music venue space, but I kind of liked the acoustics in the place and there was plenty of room up front to dance party out. And I love a good dance party.
Formerly BoMA, formerly a church, I have high hopes that Bluestone will be the best reincarnation of this space yet.