Legendary Texas metal venue The Lost Well to close

Austin neighborhood rock 'n' roll bar The Lost Well announced its imminent closure in a Sunday Facebook post. Owner Marcello Murphy said the venue has 60 days to vacate the premises, making way for a new building owner to develop the property.

Those who regularly attend metal and punk shows in Central Texas have probably been to a show or two at The Lost Well. From hosting doom metal concerts to biker meetups to DIY punk showcases, the Well has been a gathering place since 2013 for misfits and weirdos of Austin and beyond.

Known as "The Friendliest Place You're Scared to Walk Into," the Well might initially come across as the kind of place where switch blades flick open if you enter with the wrong patches on your battle vest. But according to heartfelt online tributes posted after the closure announcement, it was clearly anything but.

"I’m so heartbroken," regular Jennifer Loke said in a Facebook post. "There’s going to be nothing left but a shell of Austin at this rate, it’s mostly already there."
"Austin is getting lame," Robert Dean said in a passionate and bitter screed on underground Austin music site Cosmic Clash . "Stupid mixed-use condos are going up everywhere, and plenty of places that were once cool are losing their leases for some whack shit to pop up in their place that no one wants. And now it’s The Lost Well’s turn."

Marcello Murphy co-owns the venue with his wife Tasha. In a screenshot of an email Murphy received from the landlord, the building owner states that the eviction is "nothing personal" and "strictly a business decision."
"This city is supposed to be cool," Dean continued in his counterculture manifesto. "It’s supposed to be 'The Live Music Capital of The World,' and instead, it’s become the home of corny themed bars that suck and will eventually close in a year."
Emotions run high about the loss of The Lost Well. It's not often you hear tatted up, grizzled bikers saying they lost their "safe space." It may not sound very metal, but that's exactly the tender place the venue held for its community.

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