Historical downtown theater cancels several live events through December

Antonia Campbell
Thu, 11 Sep 2025 01:15:38 +0000
Arts & Life, Entertainment, Instagram Page, Music, News, arkansas, cancellation, Celebrity Etc Presents, cleveland, Columbus, concert, downtown, Fort Smith, Historical venue, Kansas, kemba live!, live show, Matt Grim, refunds, relocation, Sparks Band, TempleLive, The Athenaeum, theatre, Wichita

The Columbus Athenaeum abruptly canceled a majority of their shows scheduled through December. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor

The Columbus Athenaeum, a theater and event space downtown, has canceled a multitude of its events throughout the rest of the year.

The theater — located at 32 N. Fourth St. — was built in 1896 and converted into an event venue in 1996.

TempleLive, the company that purchased the Athenaeum in 2024, has canceled all of their upcoming shows at the venue, according to an NBC4 article published Monday. The cancellations included the pop-rock duo Sparks, which was set to perform Sunday.?

The show has since been relocated to KEMBA Live! venue in the arena district, according to Matt Grimm, Sparks’ publicist.

“It was super abrupt … and caught those of us on Sparks’ team completely off guard, and also seems like staff was all abruptly laid off as well,” Grimm said in an email. “Nobody knows anything official, this is just what I’m gathering from news articles on it.”?

A Sparks show in Cleveland was also relocated after being canceled by TempleLive, Grimm said.

TempleLive also hosts events at historical venues in Cleveland, Fort Smith, Ark. and Wichita, Kan., according to their website. All TempleLive events have been canceled in those cities as well.

Celebrity Etc Presents, another concert organizer that schedules shows at The Athenaeum, still has all of their upcoming events set to occur, according to NBC4.?

Events that were canceled at The Athenaeum are either being refunded or relocated, according to NBC4 and Grimms.

As of Wednesday, the TempleLive website says there are no upcoming events and has an email to contact. TempleLive did not respond to The Lantern at the time of publication.

With little information on the cause of the sudden cancellations, the future of live events at The Athenaeum remains unclear.

Those who wish to rent the venue for private events, including weddings and corporate events, may still do so through their website.?

This story was updated Thursday, Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. to correct the date of Sparks’ show from Saturday to Sunday.?