By Megan Trawick
After being open less than a year, The Lounge at the End of the Universe, a local live event venue located in the Gem Center for the Arts, closed their doors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home order. However, because of the continued support of the local community, the Lounge is still bringing out-of-this-world art and entertainment to the people of Boise.
The retro-futuristic themed venue is owned by Jen Adams, who is focused on creating a culture of acceptance and cooperation among its community of artists.
“We like taking on new artists and helping them,” Adams said. “Not only lifting them up and furthering their ability to do whatever their art is and whatever medium that is, but also teaching them a better way to interact with other artists within the community.”
Adams has been in the entertainment business for 30 years. After making the move from New York to Idaho, she wanted to make Idaho feel more like home.
“It was a huge culture shock. Honestly, I called it ‘White-aho’ for the first year I lived here because oh my god,” Adams said. “It’s so monoculture.”
This meant working alongside the Gem Center to build an entertainment community that not only amplifies artists from all backgrounds but also treasures diversity, something that she felt was missing in Boise.
“While I do appreciate the culture out here, I just miss having all of the other cultures that I’m used to being around and different kinds of people,” Adams said. “I love my friends that aren’t like me.”
The Lounge wants this community to be one of inclusion and seeks to support and provide representation wherever they can, often working with groups such as the Lezbe Kings drag queen group and Suitman Productions, which creates comedy shows focused on highlighting underrepresented performers.
“We’ve really tried to make the Lounge a place that is very worldly, and where people feel safe and welcome,” Adams said.
The Lounge’s goal is to foster an art community based on collaboration rather than competition.
Even though business screeched to a halt when the pandemic first hit, artists, audio technicians and community members rallied with the Lounge to keep the live event space going. With this support, the Lounge created free live stream shows via green screen to stay engaged with the community.
“As sucky as it is, it’s still really beautiful to see that community in action and to see that it’s actually working,” Adams said.
With the many efforts and donations made by the people that became a part of the Gem Center and the Lounge community, after over a year operating under the restrictions of the pandemic, the Lounge has been able to stay in business.
But business has still been slowed down with a severe drop in revenue seen by the Lounge and countless other businesses that rely on live performance, Adams explained that they need more help to stay open and come out the other side of the pandemic.
“Everyone is just kind of trying to figure out how to still be here when it’s all over,” Adams said.
Since reopening, the Lounge has maintained a limited capacity and implemented strict COVID-19 protocols, including temperature checks for patrons at the door and thorough sanitization practices.
Masks are also required upon entrance and must be worn when patrons are up and out of their seats. Violation of this policy results in one warning and being asked to leave if the behavior continues.
Along with in-person shows, the Lounge has been selling livestream tickets for anyone who cannot attend in-person performances. All past live streams are uploaded on the Lounge’s Patreon, accessible with a monthly donation of $5.
More information about tickets, livestreams and ways to support the Lounge can be found on their website.
Megan Trawick Portfolio 