Downtown nightlife hopes to get a little livelier with the arrival of the new venue Decca Live.
The multi-level music venue and rooftop bar celebrates its grand opening at 10 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025 with a live performance from EDM artist and DJ, Kaskade.
Located at 323 E. Bay Street in downtown Jacksonville, the space hosting Decca Live was built in 1904 and was originally a hardware store that specialized in ship chandlery. Eventually the building was headquarters for the Florida State Theater Company and in June 2021 the City of Jacksonville awarded the property Local Landmark Status.
Decca Live owners Eric Fuller, Evanc “Evan” Rajita, Aleksander Lukaj and Shawn Rouf spent five years bringing their venue dream to fruition.
“We all met while Evan and I were attending the University of North Florida, so Jacksonville is a huge part of our story,” explains club co-owner, Fuller. “As young college kids, we loved going to Freebird Live, listening to music, and throwing parties and events in and around the city.” Fuller and Rajita met their future business partners Lukaj and Rouf at the former Jacksonville Beach nightclub. “Our hope with Decca Live is to create a vibrant entertainment hub that can help ignite the downtown area and turn it into a thriving metro.”
Decca Live’s first floor is an open space and will house the main stage, while the second floor will be open to the main floor in a mezzanine style layout. The club capacity will be 1,000 attendees, and the venue includes a lounge-style and open-air and covered rooftop space, with views of the St. Johns River.
The owners of Decca Live intend to book a variety and eclectic mix of performers to the downtown venue, and the space will be available for private events rental.
Opening night musician Kaskade has enjoyed a 30-year career that started in the Chicago Progressive House scene. The Grammy Award-nominated Kaskade has collaborated with Deadmau5, CID and Galantis, and performed live at Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
In addition to the grand opening event with Kaskade, the club has already booked upcoming performances by country artist Josh Meloy (Friday, March 21) and dubstep/EDM musician Kayzo (Thursday, April 24).
The grand opening for Decca Live takes place at 10 p.m. on Friday, January 31 at 323 E. Bay St., Downtown Jacksonville. The show is ages 18 and up and tickets are available here.