Citizen Brand: Sweet Liberty Hall

There is nothing like a great venue for music and entertainment. The good ones have character and great stories to tell, if only they could talk.

Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas is just such a venue. It turns 20 today, at least in its current life. The venue itself has been a fixture on the north end of Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence for more than a century. It was shuttered in the early 1980's before a couple of enterprising visionaries brought it back to life in 1986.

Today's Lawrence Journal World tells the story of Liberty Hall. As the story details at the end: Liberty Hall has played host to divas and raconteurs, folk artists and punks, and several of the music industry's most notable names. Here's a list of some of the most recognizable:

* Jimmie Spheeris

• King Sunny Ade
• Laurie Anderson
• Andrew W.K.
• Asleep at the Wheel
• Joan Baez
• Barenaked Ladies
• Ethel Barrymore
• Beausoleil
• Henry Ward Beecher
• Belle & Sebastian
• Jello Biafra
• Lewis Black
• Blonde Redhead
• Blues Traveler
• Junior Brown
• BR549
• Burning Spear
• William S. Burroughs
• David Byrne
• Eddie Cantor
• Tracy Chapman
• George Clinton
• Chick Corea
• Robert Cray
• Counting Crows
• Ani DiFranco
• Irene Dunne
• Eminem
• Maynard Ferguson
• Mike Finnigan
• Franz Ferdinand
• Allen Ginsberg
• The Go-Go’s
• Spalding Gray
• Horace Greeley
• David Grisman
• Arlo Guthrie
• Jerry Hahn
• Hanson
• Michael Hedges
• Woody Herman
• John Hiatt
• John Lee Hooker
• Iron Butterfly
• Joe Jackson
• The Jesus Lizard
• Stan Kenton
• Willie King
• Leo Kottke
• Los Lobos
• Aimee Mann
• Medeski, Martin and Wood
• The Neville Brothers
• Nickel Creek
• Maura O’Connell
• Maceo Parker
• Pavement
• Wilson Pickett
• The Police
• Rancid
• Leon Redbone
• The Replacements
• Shirley Rey
• Tim Reynolds
• Damien Rice
• Buddy Rodgers
• Linda Rondstadt
• Henry Rollins
• Mickey Rooney
• Leon Russell
• Ricky Skaggs
• Second City
• Sigor Rós
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Patti Smith
• Sonic Youth
• Squirrel Nut Zippers
• Hank Thompson
• Richard Thompson
• Tool
• Ike and Tina Turner
• Muddy Waters
• Ween
• Gillian Welch
• Oscar Wilde
• Wu-Tang Clan
• XTC

Not to mention the fantastic live radio troupe from Kansas Public Radio called "Right Between the Ears" calls Liberty Hall its home base. It is simply an extraordinary place. Happy Birthday Liberty Hall!