Underground Atlanta lands massive music venue with Ravine

Ravine will include covered indoor and outdoor event space, with one stage built for a crowd of 6,000 attendees and one built for 2,500. The new venue is expected to be completed by fall, said Shaneel Lalani, head of the company.

The proof-of-concept of turning this garage into a viable venue was solidified last year, when DJs Diplo and Tiësto held shows in the space that both attracted thousands of attendees. The Underground team realized this was something they wanted, to host these types of events more regularly, Lalani said.

“We’ve already had world famous names who have come to perform,” Lalani said. “That just gave us more confidence that, hey, if you do this, people will come. If you make it safe, if you spend the money, people will come.”

Ravine will join the latest iteration of the Masquerade, the Frisky Whisker and dance club MJQ Concourse in planting new roots in the rebooted Underground.

This is also the second announcement of a venue headed for downtown within the past two weeks. Centennial Yards, the $5 billion, 50-acre megaproject under construction about a mile from Underground, landed a 5,300-seat venue leased by Live Nation.

Ravine originally opened at 1021 Peachtree St. in 2018. Several well-known artists performed there during its time in Midtown, including Eric Prydz, Kaskade, Dom Dolla and Charlotte de Witte. It also played host to private gatherings for Lil Baby, 2 Chainz, pop group Maroon 5 and other artists.

The new Ravine won’t require an extensive build-out. Underground said it is leaning into the industrial feel of the space and will leave it open. It’s already adding permanent bathrooms, which Lalani estimates will be completed in the next 90 days, and will soon add a physical box office. Lalani Ventures will also repaint the parking lot and repave the flooring. Ravine itself will bring in the components necessary for production, like lighting and sound equipment.

As a result, the cost of doing a show or booking an event at the venue will be much less prohibitive, Lalani said, because they won’t need to pass on the costs of spending millions of dollars to build a venue.

“We don’t have a certain threshold of what we need to be charging at the minimum or a maximum. This space is really open,” Lalani said. “This could be more for local talent and even national talent if they want to perform.”

Credit: Lalani Ventures

Credit: Lalani Ventures

Underground is not short of entertainment venues. The Masquerade has four stages. The Frisky Whisker has emerged as a sound gallery and art space. Dance club MJQ this year opened in the former Dante’s Down the Hatch space.

But another can never hurt. Entertainment venues can bring in a wide array of visitors who would’ve otherwise never visited the area to dine or shop, bringing in a new stream of revenue from ticket sales, concessions or parking fees. Plus, live events are somewhat immune to the so-called digital shift. Whereas shoppers can find their goods online instead of going to brick-and-mortar stores, music fans want to experience concerts live.

Once the permanent infrastructure is in place, Ravine will be the largest venue at Underground. Its addition is one part of Lalani’s goal to position Underground as the art and entertainment capital of Atlanta ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

It faces stiff competition from Centennial Yards, which will include an 8-acre entertainment district anchored by Cosm, a 70,000-square-foot dome that uses the same technology as planetariums to create an immersive sports viewing experience, and an expansive “fan zone” that can hold between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

But all ongoing projects in downtown, regardless of their focus, are united by one goal: to revitalize the city’s historical commercial core and transform it from a 9-5 district to a 24-hour one.

In a statement included in Underground’s news release, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the revitalization of Underground is representative of his administration’s broader commitment to the renaissance of downtown. This also includes projects from Georgia State University and MARTA, which is renovating the Five Points station.

“A thriving, safe downtown benefits our economy, businesses, GSU students and faculty, current residents, visitors and our city’s ability to keep having major events and conventions choose Atlanta,” Dickens said in the release.

Last year, Underground saw more than 1 million visitors, Lalani said, referencing data from foot traffic tracker Placer.ai. It’s on track to outpace that in 2025, and aims to hit 2 million.