“Long Play East will be closing its doors on the last day of April … But that’s not the end … We’ve got something fun in store for you yet!”
In late May, the space is set to reopen as a new bar and music venue, the Coral Snake, under ownership of Matt “Rowdy” Rade. His résumé includes time as general manager of Eastside lounge Kitty Cohen’s and the now-closed Rainey Street whiskey joint Blackheart, as well as part ownership of High Noon, which neighbors the Coral Snake building. Apart from bar management, Rade plays guitar for metal fourpiece Eagle Claw.
“We’ll have the most extreme things like metal nights, but also indie nights, DJs, and everything in between.” – Matt Rade
The original Long Play Lounge, at 604 West St. Johns, will continue to operate in North Austin.
Before second location Long Play Lounge East’s opening in early 2021, the Eastside space operated as Stay Gold, a popular soul/funk/psych venue managed by Hole in the Wall owner Will Tanner and the White Horse co-owner Nathan Hill. Tanner acquired the venue after an amicable split between the two business partners and will continue to be involved with the new concept. After two years as Long Play Lounge East, Tanner and Rade came to the mutual decision to rebrand as the Coral Snake in hopes of finalizing Stay Gold’s metamorphosis into an entirely fresh atmosphere.
“We’re really redoing the space to complete the transition from Stay Gold to a new bar,” Rade explains. “Long Play never really achieved that, but this will be more of a transformative experience.”
Under Rade’s direction, the venue will distance itself from Long Play’s focus on spinning vinyl and instead move towards becoming a hub for live music. He cites an enlarged stage as a game-changing addition to the space: “The stage is kind of small right now. We’re going to pull it out 2 and a half to 3 feet and raise it as well, so that more bands are able to fit on it.”
Other changes include new noon weekend opening hours with brunch options from Taqueria Johnny’s Tacos on the patio. While Long Play’s weekly residencies (including swing group Rent Party’s Friday night show) aren’t expected to carry over into the new space, Rade plans on maintaining a close relationship with the former venue’s recurring artists.
“Rent Party has been killing it, and we still want to keep them on the books,” he confirms. “We’re just not doing the residencies because we want every night to be something different.”
An eighth-generation Austinite, Rade draws inspiration from the new bar’s reptilian namesake.
“The coral snake is native to here – the first time I ever saw one was at my grandma’s house here in Austin,” he remembers. “It really lends itself to the branding, so there’ll be lots of red, yellow, and black.
“If I can tie it to music genres, the coral snake itself is one of the top five most deadly snakes in the world, but they can also be extremely gentle. Drawing from that, we’ll have the most extreme things like metal nights, but also indie nights, DJs, and everything in between.”
This article appears in April 21 • 2023.