Coca-Cola Roxy
Real Magic to Your Ears
The Joy of Music:
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!🎊 Wherever you are, on whatever device you’re scrolling right now, I want to personally wish you and yours the very best! Though there’s a myriad of reasons why holidays aren’t always the best time of year for everyone out there, I’m hoping that this posting can bring a bit of that same merry feeling that’s ignited when you listen to one of your favorite songs or see your favorite artist in concert! I mean after all, we’re about to take a deep dive into one of the most recognizable brand figures in the entire world thats red & white all over! Huh?? No… Not Santa! Wait… Mariah Carey!? Okay, she does unofficially own the season so i’ll give you a pass on that but do we still believe in Sa…? Look I’m not here to spoil anyone’s traditions. Regardless, I was referring to Coca-Cola! You know, with the iconic red can & white cursive font? The most popular soft drink in the world! Not to mention all of its successful spinoffs flavors - Coke Zero, Vanilla Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Oreo Coke, Coca-Cola Roxy!
Oh come on.. you’ve never heard of Coca-Cola Roxy? Well sure its not one of their signature flavors per se but its a venue with so many different flavors of music that you might feel like you’re in an endless simulation reliving one of the best nights of your life though somehow the soundtrack is slightly different every time — but still blissfully fantastic. Anyway, let’s take a scroll (literally and figuratively) through memory lane and much like that iconic can or vintage glass bottle, open the happiness that is the Coca-Cola Roxy.
A Complicated History:
Trying to pinpoint the exact origins of the Coca-Cola Roxy is a bit like one of those treasure maps in movies that’s missing the the most important piece to find the ever life changing riches. Or better yet, like Jack Sparrows compass thats ‘not’ broken. Though it’s not as complicated as trying to explain if the Coca-Cola executives actually had some insight into whether changing the formula to “New Coke” would purposefully cause an uproar just to regain market share when eventually reverting back to “Original Coke”. And certainly not as controversial as putting a bit of cocaine in every can to hit the shelves from the late 1880s through early 1900s; The history does have its fair share of twist and turns.
According to its wikipedia page, Coca Cola Roxy was an entirely new venue built as key component of the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park (then Suntrust Park) multi-use development complex, The Battery. Though the name “Roxy” pays homage to the original Roxy Theatre that was, you guessed it, a movie palace from the early 60s - early 70s. However, if you take a look at Roxy Theatre’s wiki page it says to NOT get this confused with the Coca Cola Roxy Theatre that was originaly Buckhead Theatre, turned Capri Theatre, turned back to Buckhead Theatre. But then if you read carefully (I did!) on Buckhead Theatre’s page, it says that it WAS converted into Coca-Cola Roxy… Ok look for the sake of time & an additional blog posts down the road where we will get to the bottom of whatever this theatre was calling itself, let’s just start with the opening of this New Coca-Cola venue — see what I did there?— that hit quite a few home runs of its own since opening on April 8, 2017.
A Grand (re)Opening:
You know what might actually be better than a glass of Coke? Maybe opening your new Coke branded venue with Glass Animals performing Pork Soda for a sold-out crowd of 3600 people. Uh yea, thats exactly what happened! Though I’m not so sure that even the best promoters in the world could’ve convinced 3000+ people to show up to taste test a new pork flavored soda. Look, I’m all for novelty parings, apparently the Oreo flavor was a hit! — Btw I dont drink soda at all nor am an advocate for it but I recognize the brand impact and will fully continue to lean into it throughout this post — However, pork flavored anything thats not pork sounds about as good as Fergie’s infamous Star Spangled Banner rendition. Anyway, get your pineapples out your head and pay attention to this insane list of performers that came through soon after Glass Animals: Lil Wayne, John Mayer, T.I., Logic, Luis Fonsi, Harry Styles, and J Balvin just to name a few. Talk about a grand opening!! Not to mention that these names all came within their first 6 months of operation! I know I know, you’re going to tell me “Yusef, you idiot! It’s a Live Nation ran venue, artists have contracts with them.. blah blah”. Hey I’m a chill guy here, I get it, its cool. But guess what? So is Tabernacle (in my opinion the best venue in the city by far) and with it being tried and true for so many years, and only about twenty minutes down the road, I’m still not sure how they convinced that list of A+ stars to shift from the hometown hero to some new unproven space. Even by 2017’s standards, all of these guys were huge names with big pull; except for maybe Glass Animals, who were merely three years away from releasing one of the greatest summer records of the new decade to approach.
Basis aside, I will admit that Roxy has grown into one of the best venues in town. Not only because it’s doors are quite literally thirty steps or less from the gates of Truist Park. — Imagine catching a home run from Ronald Acuña Jr. on a late afternoon then walking over to turn up your rhythm as you scream lyric for lyric to Just Pretend by Bad Omens. Some lucky soul(s) out there didn’t have to imagine as the two events indeed occurred on September 8th of last year (Acuña did nail one out of the park but the odds that someone caught it and went to the show are crazy low). — The ambiance of the venue itself makes it a worthwhile visit. From massive mesmerizing chandeliers to lush red velvet curtains, with a VIP area dubbed “The EP Lounge” that’ll make you feel as if you yourself released one of the years best musical projects, you can almost taste the feeling of what will undoubtably be a night worth writing your own blog about.
My first time in this wonderful music haven came on June 8, 2018, when Dua Lipa transformed the entire place into a melodious garden that legitimately blew my mind. I had been reading about her rise in a few magazines and when I tell you her live singing was so distinctively rich and as pure as sunlight, accompanied with commentary from her warmly rasp voice, simply WOW! This was also my first foray into pop concerts so much to my surprise and delight, after the show was over, she had the house queue up I Wanna Dance with Somebody where the entire venue quickly found somebody or five to dance with under the sparkling chandelier lights. Sometimes it’s about the make up of the venue that makes it special, especially when there isn’t much history yet. As both Dua and the Roxy were making history in that moment, more legacy was being built in the times between her performance. Prior tor her iconic visit, there were the likes of Big Gigantic, Fall out Boy, MGMT, and Big Sean while shortly after, BROCKHAMPTON, 5 Seconds of Summer, Troye Sivan, H.E.R., and even Harry Styles swung back around to catch the wave of the crowd. Mind you, this is all roughly still within a year and a half of being open to the public.
Although we are on an abbreviated ‘historical timeline’ of sorts, I’d say 2019 was by far the year that solidified Roxy as one of the best iterations of Coke products to ever hit the market. From Dan + Shay to Ice Cube, Maren Morris, Lil Baby, Blackbear, $uicideboy$, ILLENIUM, and we’re going to make a quick pit stop at Young Thug on October 16th because yes, I was there too. Hmm how can I put this? The name of the album he was touring at the time is titled “So Much Fun” and I can 100% confirm that the show was indeed so much fucking fun! — I thank J Cole a lot for this because prior to Thug joining him for his KOD arena tour in 2018, he was far from a great live performer, kinda trash if we’re being honest. I truly believe that working with someone as meticulous & a perfectionist like Cole had a big impact on Thug’s outlook on live performances. By the way, I highly encourage you to check out Cole’s Inevitable podcast series, its masterful! — Not to mention mgk was the opener and he scaled the entirety of the balcony railing to close out his set. This is a case where I love an artist living out their lyrics, he’s a Wild Boy no doubt!! Rounding out that year saw the likes of Summer Walker, Brett Eldredge, DaBaby, Alessia Cara and many more awesome names.
Now even though you most likely dont know me personally, I consider myself a man of class on occasion and I wouldn’t dare make either of us relive the horrors of the year(s) that shall not be named. In spite of those seemingly never ending unprecedented days, I will say that Roxy bounced back phenomenally with almost two hundred shows between 2022-2023 all of which you can assume were headlined by more marque names to keep up with the brand’s standard. A little Peso Pluma here, Lil Uzi Vert there, a dash of Pixies and Two Friends within ten days of each other that followed a sprinkling of a Noah Kahan appearance a week before that. You get the point right? Up and down, round and round, the Roxy pushes premiere talent through those back halls that in turn will have us pushing through the crowd trying to get as close to the front railing as possible (look as a non-expert expert of attending live shows, the best viewing area is objectively in the back of these sized venues but push forward as you will).
Lighting in a Coke Bottle (Make That a Hundred):
Wow, what a journey. Albeit a quick one but a damn good one! While there hasn’t been a defining genre or qualifying hairstyle to boast with this venue like Variety Playhouse, there has been a striking resemblance to a message the Coke brand has been pushing for decades - a great product that you can trust above the others. From the decor to the amenities and obviously the artists, I would expect nothing else than the best of the best from a powerhouse like Coca-Cola. Can you imagine what this performance archive will look like in twenty years? Hell, they still haven’t even hit their ten year anniversary yet which is insane to have this run of talent already pass through, some multiple times! Undoubtably half of the people mentioned here will be cemented legends in one hall of fame or another while more mega stars in waiting will be adding an epic Roxy performance to their resume for a 2064 HOF submission.
I mean no matter what flavor you’re into, you can’t beat the feeling of Glass Animals, Due Lipa, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Harry Styles, Rosalía, All Time Low, Snoh Aalegra, JID, HAIM, Arctic Monkeys, Miguel, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Bret Young, Young The Giant, Judah & The Lion, ScHoolboy Q, Of Monsters and Men, Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo, Wallows, Alter Bridge, Lainey Wilson, Ella Mai, Smino, yeat, Jordan Davis, Marshmello, Two Door Cinema Club, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Young Miko, and FINNEAS, who will be one of the first to pass by next year. Get your tickets here!
Yes, I know I could’ve simply put ‘etc .’ at any moment there but you tell me what name doesn’t deserve to be on that list? Then remind me what names I left off, because there’s a lot!
Even more, I was trying to emphasize my point that regardless of genre, every single person that comes through that venue is good, GREAT! I’m not here to argue over your genre preferences or that Paramore did it first & better (I agree with you there), nonetheless there’s no denying the talent on this list. Plus, if you check that list twice, this would be the last time that you got to see a lot of these artists in somewhat of an intimate setting. Right, 3000+ people doesn’t exactly scream “elbow room!” but now a days the closest you’d get to most of these acts is when the camera person zooms in on them for the jumbotron that way us lucky super fans who are wayyyy back in the nosebleeds can feel like we’ve gotten our five hundred dollars worth for 3-4 seconds. And if we’re going to be objective here — we’re not, just pretend — Olivia has seven, yes SEVEN, songs on her debut album with over 1 billion streams on Spotify alone. Even with their fucked up pay-out metrics, that still equates to roughly 35 million dollars in streaming revenue. Love ya Hayley but the numbers are making cents (which you’re getting some of too).
I know they say lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice & if you get lucky enough to strike lightning in a bottle, you better hold on tight because boy is it hard to replicate such a feat. I mean, getting major artists to come come through Roxy year over year, as consistently as they have is remarkable! Especially with all of the marque venues in town. It’s almost as remarkable as being a local pharmacist that mixed a little bit of syrup with carbonated water (and cocaine) which lead to dominating the carbonated beverage market forevermore. Or maybe even more remarkable than selling cans of flavored carbonated water for years then out of the blue deciding to own and operate a successful music venue right up the road from where it all started. I didn’t even mention the fact that Coke damn near has a monopoly on the beverage distribution at most major arenas and amphitheaters around the country.
Hmmm.. maybe things really do go better with Coke? While I wont be taste testing that theory any time soon, I’ll definitely be test my luck with some amazing shows in the near future & it would be great to see you there! Jorja Smith anyone?? Yes. The answer is yes! We all love Jorja and if you don’t or simply dont know, watch either of these videos of her Tiny Desk/A Colors Show performance then come shake & bake on over and let’s have ourselves at time at the real thing that is Coca Cola Roxy.
Great read, I’ve seen some incredible acts play at The Roxy. Some sort of magic about the place. Go Braves!