Editor's Pick Best Concert Venue: New Brookland Tavern

Editor's note: As a special treat for our online readers, here is an EXTENDED interview not fully featured in our print publication! Enjoy!

New Brookland Tavern (NBT) is one of the oldest music venues in Columbia and is many people’s pick — mine included — for the Best Concert Venue. Even though its move from the historic West Columbia venue to a much larger building in Five Points has raised many questions about NBT’s future, many still believe NBT’s aura, history and, most importantly, its music are here to stay.

Everyone who has seen a show at New Brookland Tavern has a unique story of their experience and connection to the venue. 

“I have been able to see some of my favorite bands and expand my music taste by going to see live music for cheap and close to home,” USC student, WUSC DJ and former NBT employee Arden Riley said, who also plays occasional DJ sets at NBT. “Performing on the stage I used to sweep and would see some of my musical inspirations play on was surreal.” 

Issac Czerniawsky, another USC student who works the door at New Brookland Tavern, also shared one of their many experiences.

“When Abacus came in for their last show at the new venue, a woman and her partner came in, which is not unheard of, only the lady had a baby that couldn’t have been 10 months old strapped onto her chest. Headphones and pacifier equipped. There’s nowhere like NBT!” Czerniawsky said.

Czerniawsky worked at the previous location as well before the venue made the move to Five Points. 

“NBT is definitely nostalgic for folks,” Czerniawsky said. “Every shift I’ve ever worked, someone at the door has remarked that they’ve ‘been coming here since before you were born,’ or ‘Man, it smells like 20 years ago in here.’ It was really sweet.” 

Czerniawsky said they believe that in 30 years, someone will be saying the same thing to some other college student working the NBT door. 

“New Brookland has stuck it out 50 years. There’s no reason we as a Columbia community shouldn’t be working on making some nostalgia now,” Czerniawsky said. 

Riley said she thinks the move will be beneficial for the venue’s new chapter. 

“I think Five Points will give the venue what it needs — accessibility to the downtown patrons and especially college students,” Riley said. “Now, being in a hotspot of bars and other local businesses, it is easier to afford and go to for the 1st or 100th time.”

New Brookland Tavern stands as a testament to Columbia's enduring spirit of live music. While the venue’s move sparked some concerns, the prevailing sentiment among patrons and staff is optimism and nostalgia. NBT’s resilience, combined with the vibrant atmosphere of its new surroundings, suggests that it will preserve its cherished history and create new memories for the next generation.