jefferson theater

I've been to two concerts in this venue. First time, I stood on the main floor, leaning against a wall to listen to the bands. During the opener, I went upstairs to check out the balcony and it was packed and I couldn't find a seat. For my second time, I decided I definitely wanted to sit down during the concert, so I arrived before the doors opened at 7 pm and there was already a line (sold out Ingrid Michaelson show) about 50-100 people deep. By the time I walked in and headed up the stairs to the balcony, the entire first two rows were filled. There are several rows of seats with a left, middle and right section so it was easy for us to find seats at that time. By the time the opening band started at 8, most of the balcony seats were taken with an occasional single unoccupied seat in a row. However, I am average height and my knees were pressed against the back of the row ahead of me so this would definitely be challenging for anyone tall, so you may want to try and get an aisle or at the wall seat to be comfortable.I later discovered that on the main floor, there are a few bar tables with a few chairs located at the back and near the bar. Not so sure that this would be available at every show, but something to keep in mind, if you get there early enough to snag. Great place to watch a show.

If you are headed to Charlottesville, take a minute or two to see who is playing at the Jefferson. Great place to watch music, and generally they have a great lineup of artists (local and national).

A wonderful historic venue for music and fun. Was an old movie theater, still with all the charm and character of a past era. Floor slopes gently to the stage, as movie theater floors do. This can be tiring for your legs after a while standing on an angle and dancing. No seating except for upstairs at the bar area. Floor flattens out at the front near the edge of the stage. Great sound, small intimate space, amazing place to enjoy live music of all kinds. Check out the website. Ticket prices vary depending on entertainment. Have also attended private parties and fundraisers there....very well done! Enter from downtown mall, so parking is best either at water street parking garage or surface lot beside parking garage. Also might have luck at the omni hotel. Usually plenty of people on the downtown mall in the eve/night, so I have not felt unsafe. A great place to people watch outside and see the whole range of Cville residents. Police presence, they are very friendly too.

The Jefferson Theater was renovated several years ago. It was an old movie theater from the 1920's and they took the time to bring it back to life. There are two bars and a large open floor. there is seating on folding chairs for some performances but for most bands it is just an open floor. AT the top there are a few tables which are reserved (I believe there were 6 tables each seating 4 people.

I love this place - the atmosphere is great. I'm so glad someone had the insight to restore a lovely old theater and use it for music events. What a save!!

The seating is absolutely atrocious, with folding chairs crammed together. It’s really a shame because they book some really good talent. Enduring the venue is more than we’re willing to take. Go if you don’t care about comfort or elbow room.

I've recently discovered the Jefferson Theater. I saw a 90's DJ Band and The Legwarmers there in the last two months. It's like an old vintage theater that they've removed all the seats. Everyone just stands there in front of the stage. Not too big, not too small. They also have a full service bar inside, which is awesome. They always have a FREE coat check downstairs which makes it so much easier in the winter time, so you don't have to carry your coat all night. The tickets for the shows are very inexpensive as well. SO worth your time and money.

The Jefferson is my favorite place to hear music in Charlottesville. Since it is a remodeled movie theater, the main floor has a gentle slope that allows for excellent sight lines. The variety and quality of acts are impressive.. My only complaint is with the sound board- frequently so loud that the vocals are muddy and drowned out.

We went to the Jefferson to see The Steep Canyon Rangers and had tickets for the balcony, thankfully. The acoustics were generally pretty good (although I think their sound guy had the instruments too high against the voices). There were seats on the main floor, which I understand is not the usual setup. About halfway through the show, a couple of people ran up the side aisle and started dancing near the stage, but in the aisle right in front of the seated people. They were less-than-careful with their drinks and seemed to be close to knocking into the people seated near them. After about 5 minutes of this, and not being able to see, one of the seated patrons finally went and complained and a bouncer came down and made them leave.This would not have caused a bad review, except for what happened next. After another ten minutes or so, more people came up and started dancing and carrying on. More and more came up until both side aisles and the front of the stage were clogged with people dancing right in front of those who had paid for and sat up front. No one from the Jefferson ever came to tell them to sit down and respect other's viewing.This did not diminish my enjoyment of the show as we were above it all looking down, but if I was one of those who had paid to watch someone's rear-end wiggling in front of me instead of the band i had come to see, I would have been pissed.Maybe since the main floor is normally "standing room only", the management forgot that they had paying customers seated there.

The Jefferson gets really good acts and once in a blue moon, we will trek over the mountain to see one. I love the inside of the theater. It's really a beautiful old building. I have two major issues. First, the seats. I understand that you want to make money and the more seats you have, the more money you can make. If you are over the age of 10, you are not going to enjoy sitting in any seat in the balcony. Your knees are going to be firmly planted into the seat in front of you and if you or your neighbor weighs over 100lbs, you're going to be practically sharing a seat. I cannot stress enough how HORRIBLE the seating is here.Second, the rails in the balcony. Nothing makes me more nervous than watching the drunk girl dance and twirl around a railing that is maybe three feet high. I really do not know how someone hasn't plunged over the railing yet. I admire that you have put up taller rails in two places, but if you (The Jefferson Theater) are going to keep serving alcohol to people that have clearly reached (and surpassed) their limit, put up some taller railings. We have been here several times and this happens every single time.When we were there Saturday (1/18) to see The Steep Canyon Rangers, there were so many drunk kids, it ruined it for me. Maybe I'm getting older, but my idea of seeing a great show involves paying for a seat I can sit comfortably in and actually hear the band when they sing a slower, more quiet song. I just felt like I was at a frat party. I will have to really think about going back.

I was in Charlottesville for a few days and got the opportunity to enjoy two concerts. I love this venue. Great acoustics and a cool vibe. It is centrally located and the talent they book is amazing. I am now following them on Twitter and Facebook, as I want to know of all future concerts.

We went to see Sweetwater Band and had a wonderful time. Not really many places to sit so be prepared to either get there early or be on the dance floor.

Amazing concert variety and the tickets are not too expensive. Also the size is pretty small so you can always see the band.

The theater is located on Charlottesville's pedestrian mall and is the ideal location to see a concert / show. Limited seating but a great sound system.

I was expecting a little better finish work since the Jefferson was such a classic old theater before they made it into a new venue. Too bad they gutted most of it to produce a new place for younger crowd rock bands future rock star hopefuls... We went there for a Led Zepplin cover... Even for them, the decibel level in the place was way above 100db... good thing we had ear plugs or we would have been deaf in the 1st 10 minutes... The staff running the audio console were over driving the microphones trying to keep up with the music volume and they were buzzing, humming and feeding back. It would have been much more pleasurable with just about 10 db less volume. (still over 90).Also... it's too bad they gutted the place. With the exception of the side boxes which were stuffed with soundproofing and not accessible to the crowd, There is little left inside of the original Jefferson Theater that represents the class and elegance they old theater used to have.Won't go there again.