Jefferson Center

It has so much potential. The shows I’ve seen have been good, but they never have any good musical acts. This town deserves good music. Who ever does their booking kind of sucks at it. They need to be more aggressive about bringing musical acts to this town.

Saturday April 6, 2012 was the first time that I had attended an event at The Jefferson Center in Roanoke Va. We went to see Mr. Eric Benet perform. We had people who came from Ohio, Texas, DC, MD and VA for the show. The venue was beautiful. The staff was absolutely amazing. Mr. Ian Fortier made my first time in Roanoke, VA a super fantastic evening. He is definitely the Director of First Impressions. He was warm, welcoming and treated our group like VIPs. I love his upbeat personality. I knew I was in love with him when he did a little dance as he talked to the guests. I love people who just love people. The venue gives you a very cozy and initimate feeling. Everyone in our group had the best time ever. I can only tell you that I will definitely come again to another show.

I’m very glad we have the Jefferson Center in town. They have a friendly and helpful staff and attract interesting performers. It’s a really beautiful venue. I’ve seen a few shows here, including Dark Star Orchestra, Los Lobos, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Medeski Martin and Wood. My boyfriend tapes shows, and the staff and crowd are some of the best to tape with.
My main issues with the Jefferson are the parking and the drink policy. Parking is inconvenient and not suited to capacity audiences. They sell alcohol, but do not allow any kind of liquid in the venue because of the floors or something. I appreciate their concern for the beautiful wood floors, but this is a live music venue — it’s limiting their profit and it limits my enthusiasm.
I’d give it a 3.5 if I could. It’s a good venue that I patronize often.

I love the Jefferson Center. They bring in great performers like Keb Mo, Buddy Guy and David Sedaris. The Theatre is gorgeous and the seats are comfortable enough, but it can be a bit loud during some performances.