When Drew Jameson cut the ribbon for his new venue in the Grove, Atomic by Jamo, he kept his remarks short and sweet.
“Better late than never,†he said.
Jameson has dreamed of opening a concert venue since he was 18, so the brick-and-mortar was the culmination of a life of work and just the beginning of a new era for Jameson and his booking company, Jamo Presents.
It’s also turning the page for the Grove. “This is big time ...,†said Abdul-Kaba Abdullah, executive director of the Park Central Development Corporation at the ribbon cutting.
Post-pandemic, the Grove has not had a venue that brought in national and international touring acts. Atomic by Jamo, at 4140 Manchester in the old Atomic Cowboy space, fills that void by offering a pavilion space for outdoor concerts with room for 900, a smaller indoor space that can hold 200, and a lounge and bar area offering up a slate of local DJs on weeknights starting at 9 p.m.
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Plus, it revives a troubled corner lot that was once a neighborhood anchor. Atomic Cowboy shuttered due to the pandemic in 2020, and in 2022, the Ready Room tried to move into the space, a project that was never fully realized. Since then the building has sat empty until Jameson was able to lease it in April.
Now, with a vibrant mural from Killer Napkins — a.k.a. Jason Spencer, who also did the murals that adorn the back of the building — it is open and ready to enhance the ºüÀêÊÓƵ music scene.
As far as what type of music to expect, Jameson does have some favorites. “I love jam bands,†he says. “I personally love funk, soul, R&B and blues. I’ve been booking Music at the Intersection for a few years and I’ve definitely fallen in love with the voice that they have musically.â€
But he’s not just booking bands he personally loves. “What works for the neighborhood?†He asks. “What are they wanting?â€
Future acts include rock band STRFKR (Sept. 13), Grammy-winning jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy (Sept. 26) and hip-hop trio Digable Planets (Oct. 4).
Jameson says that the neighborhood got behind the venue right away. In order for a business to get a liquor license, it has to get its neighbors to sign a petition saying they’re all OK with having a booze-selling business nearby.
“The neighbors were really eager to sign,†Jameson says. “This building is a missed one overall. And I think a few of the neighbors that were hesitant actually remember me from being at Atomic (Cowboy) and they ended up signing, too.â€
Jameson used to work for former tenant Atomic Cowboy, booking bands from 2015 to 2020.
“I played a lot of music back then. I was a touring musician,†Jameson says. He is in the Mighty Pines, a band that got national recognition when frontman Neil Salisch appeared on “The Voice†in 2023. He also started the group Grass-Fed Mule.
“I was on the road two weeks a month,†he says. “And you’d meet people that would totally be a good connection for ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
Jameson booked bands under his brand Jamo Presents, which was Jameson’s dad’s nickname and “our last name’s nickname in general,†Jameson says. He and his dad actually started Jamo Presents in 2013. They first worked for the Gramophone, another Grove business that brought in bands before it pivoted to become primarily a sandwich shop in 2015.
His dad moved on to another career path, but Jameson moved to Atomic Cowboy down the street.
The pandemic came and threw Jameson’s life a curveball. He could no longer book bands or tour himself, and Atomic Cowboy soon closed. But he wasn’t giving up.
“I ended up pivoting into doing some socially distanced shows down next to Busch Stadium,†he says. “We were the first COVID-approved events by the health department in the city.â€
The events would host around 250 people in pods of eight people or less. Servers wore masks, customers used QR codes to order, and “social ambassadors†(a nice name for security) would make sure people followed COVID-era rules.
“It was expensive, but it was well run,†he says.
Jamo Presents showed others in the city how events could happen during COVID. “At that moment everyone was figuring out what to do next, how to do it,†Jameson recalls. “We picked an all-star team and came out and made everybody feel happy, and had a lot of fun.â€
Some members of that team are still with Jamo and helped Jameson open Atomic by Jamo. He has big plans for the space, including adding food, which would be run by a separate vendor. He’s just looking for the perfect restaurant to operate out of the space.
“I want it to be super approachable,†he says, remarking that he’s turned down at least five offers already.
Award-winning bartender Randi Kranz will be mixing up traditional and signature cocktails for the space, which even on opening day wasn’t quite finished. Custom-made barstools are still on their way, and some of the blank walls will be getting art soon.
Jameson proudly showed off some of the space’s innovations though, including tables that can fold out of the way, and a hunter green and gold color scheme. He also explained his somewhat controversial decision to keep the knotty pine that adorns some of the walls.
“It reminds me of my parents' house in the ’90s,†Jameson says.
It’s not surprising Jameson would want to keep homey touches. There are a few other sentimental nods, the chevron mural that the Ready Room painted when it tried to move into the space is still up, as are the bullhorns that Atomic Cowboy had in its bar. They’ve been painted yellow and added to the outdoor pavilion. These touches of home and history are all part of building an anchor for the neighborhood, Jameson says.
“This is so much more than a venue,†he says. “It’s a vibe. It’s a hang.â€