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The Flood Zone was a music venue located at 11 S 18th St in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Started by co-owners Mason Wyatt, Bruce Olsen and Steve Payne in 1985, it was envisioned to be an all-purpose arts facility with a recording studio, record label, video production capabilities and performing-arts space. In 1989, after failing to turn a profit, Olsen and Payne sold their shares to Wyatt for $1.00. In the early 1990s, Wyatt leased the venue to Coran Capshaw, who removed the recording studio and replaced in a bar and hotdog machines upstairs.

Capshaw booked The Dave Matthews Band who called The Flood Zone their home away from home. DMB eventually played there 75 times between November 4, 1991 and September 28, 1994. Other notable bands to perform at The Flood Zone were Phish, who performed on March 24, 1992 and July 16, 1992, Wilco on August 1, 1995, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on March 29, 1992, Black Crowes on December 10, 1990 and Nine Inch Nails on April 13, 1990.

In the mid-1990s, The Flood Zone lost their license after a member of Gwar stripped naked on stage. They eventually reopened, but in 1997 the city closed The Flood Zone after a series of assaults and fights in the neighborhood. The building was eventually turned into the Have A Nice Day Cafe, a disco-themed dance club chain based in North Carolina. ¹

1. https://askingtree.com/venues/471[↩]