Cinematique of Daytona to showcase live music at monthly 'Late & Local' shows

DAYTONA BEACH — Rock ‘n’ roll is on the bill again starting later this month at Cinematique of Daytona, the independent art-house theater on Beach Street.

The movie house will re-launch its monthly “Late & Local” local band showcase on Jan. 28, showcasing a trio of Central Florida acts: Orlando-based funk practitioners the Jaylbirds; acoustic folk-punk solo performer Dear Sister Kodos, also from Orlando; and Daytona Beach’s Rainbow Park.

For Cinematique, operated by a non-profit board of directors, the return of the series represents a significant milestone in the theater’s rebound from the damage it received from tropical storms Ian and Nicole, said Dakota Bozeman, the theater's general manager. The back-to-back storms caused major flooding of the Halifax River across Beach Street into local businesses, including Cinematique.

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“This is the last huge step to getting the Cinematique back to where it was before COVID, before the storm damage and all the stuff that has happened,” said Bozeman, 24, who started at the theater in July and stepped into the general manager’s role in October.

That was when Ian and Nicole dumped biblical amounts of water on Beach Street and elsewhere in Volusia and Flagler counties. At Cinematique, flood waters soaked carpets and drapes throughout the theater and also damaged the sound system.

“Luckily, it didn’t get very high along the walls inside, so we didn’t have to take out any drywall,” Bozeman said. “We did have to clean and sanitize the carpet and take out of lot things that got damaged. There were a lot of posters in storage that we had to throw away; we had to throw away the curtains in the lobby that had been soaked and damaged; a lot things had to be thrown out.”

The theater reopened with improv comedy performances in mid-November, followed by a limited movie schedule in December that has returned to a normal release schedule in the new year.

Music series also was sidelined by pandemic

Before the storms, the monthly concert series had been discontinued two years ago as the pandemic shuttered many events worldwide, Bozeman said. Before that interruption, however, the band showcase had been a popular staple of the Cinematique’s event calendar that also included movies, comedy shows, jazz performances and other entertainment, he said.

When it returns, ‘Late & Local’ is anticipated to be a recurring event on the final Saturday of every month, Bozeman said. Admission to the all-ages shows will be $16 at the door, with advance tickets also available on the theater’s website, cinematique.org. Bands will play from 8-10:30 p.m., with doors to open at 7:30.

Bands already are booked for the series’ February installment, Bozeman said.

“We’re still trying to get bands for March,” he said. “We’re trying to book ahead two months at a time as far as confirming the bands goes.”

The booking and other details of the reincarnated series are primarily handled by Brendan Hayden, the Cinematique’s box office associate and booking agent.

A 2014 graduate of Seabreeze High School, Hayden, 24, has been a longtime patron and employee of the theater. He relishes the opportunity to be part of its revival, he said.

“With movies, comedy, all the music you could ask for, things are coming back in full swing this year,” he said. “I’m super-excited to be a part of it. I started going to the Cinematique in high school to watch the comedy shows, then I got involved in a comedy troupe and started working there. It has been a second home to me, so the opportunity to come back and help as much as I can is super-inspiring.”

Interest among bands has been high, he said.

“As soon as we announced that it was back, I was on a group thread with 55 different bands and venues all over Florida wanting to jump on board,” he said. “We’re joining together to help the music scene in Daytona blow up this year.”

For bands, the fact that the theater is an all-ages venue is a big attraction, Hayden said.

“That’s a big deal in our scene,” he said. “It gives the high school kids something to do and it helps the bands connect with the young high school and college fans that follow them. We have a little dance area set up so the stage is really close to the bands, so it gets really personal.”

News of the return of the series is applauded by other Beach Street merchants, including Allan Brewer, owner of Evans & Son Fine Jewelers, a Beach Street fixture for decades.

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“We absolutely encourage all of the events that any of the local businesses want to hold,” Brewer said.

“When they come to one of these events, not only will they see Cinematique, but they will look across the street at the new park that is being completed and have an understanding of the scope and size of the effort that is being put into our downtown area,” he said. “What we find is that when folks make effort to come downtown they are always surprised how beautiful it is.”

Editor's note: The name of the event is "Live & Local" and not as originally reported.

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Cinematique of Daytona to showcase bands at monthly 'Late & Local'