This iconic Phoenix bar is the world's best small music venue, Billboard says

The Rebel Lounge in Phoenix has been named the Best Venue Under 500-Capacity in the world by Billboard magazine.

It's one of Billboard's 2024 Top Music Venues, placing it alongside venues as iconic as Hyde Park and the O2 Arena in London, New York City's Madison Square Garden, the Kia Forum in Los Angeles and the Sphere in Las Vegas.

"It's a pretty rad list to be included in," said Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents, who opened the club in 2015 on the site of another legendary Phoenix music space, the Mason Jar, after more than a decade of promoting concerts in the Valley.

"It's a pretty exclusive list. We don't get included with Hyde Park in London very often," he said.

Why Billboard called Rebel Lounge the best in the US

The Billboard story called the Rebel Lounge a "desert oasis of brick, steel and rust" that "has long served as an important tour stop for developing bands traveling Interstate 10" while also being a "ground zero for Phoenix's budding music scene with nearly nightly bookings and a loyal following of local supporters."

A writer from Billboard reached out to Chilton a few months ago but didn't say what he was writing at the time.

If Chilton had to pick a reason his club made the list, he'd say consistency.

"It's built up a pretty decent reputation as a developing spot," he says.

Chilton became a well-known figure in the concert industry as a co-founding member of the National Independent Venue Association, formed in response to the COVID-19 shutdown to lobby on behalf of independent venues, their employees, artists, fans and communities.

"The national attention it's gotten through all my work with NIVA obviously must have played some sort of role in that," he said.

"It definitely raised the profile of the venue. I think people often think it's a much bigger venue just because of how much attention we got during COVID. People are like, 'What are you, a 2,000-cap?' And I'm like, 'No, 300.'"

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Mitski, Charley Crockett have played the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix

Founded in 1979, the Mason Jar hosted some of the hottest up-and-coming rock acts of the next two decades, including Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Jane's Addiction, Green Day, Guns N' Roses and Nirvana.

In the early 2000s, the room was revamped and added shows by the Black Keys, Jimmy Eat World and Fall Out Boy. During that era, Psyko Steve Presents booked a number of shows at the Mason Jar, including Avenged Sevenfold, the Bled and Greeley Estates.

Chilton and his partners took over the building at 23rd Street and Indian School Road, which has a capacity of about 300, in September 2014 and renovated it, bringing in a new generation of great artists on the rise.

Chilton mentions Mitski and Charley Crockett as two acts he's proud to have developed in the Phoenix market.

"We had them both three times at Rebel," Chilton says. "And now, they're huge stars."

There are other rock clubs on the Billboard list, from First Avenue in Minneapolis to the Triple Door in Seattle.

But as Chilton says, the Rebel is "by far the smallest venue on this list."

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix's Rebel Lounge among world's best music venues, Billboard says