recordBar is an independent live music venue, bar and restaurant at 1520 Grand Boulevard in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in August 2005 by musicians Steve Tulipana and Shawn Sherrill, it has developed into one of the city’s established small concert venues. The current room has a capacity of around 400 people and presents local, regional and international artists across rock, metal, punk, indie, alternative, hip-hop, electronic music and numerous other genres.
The original recordBar opened at 1020 Westport Road in the Old Westport Shopping Center. Tulipana, known as the frontman of Kansas City noise rock band Season to Risk, and Sherrill initially intended the business primarily as a neighbourhood bar and restaurant rather than a dedicated music venue. That changed within months when promoter Jacki Becker asked whether The National could perform there in October 2005. The successful concert encouraged the owners to invest in a proper sound system, and live music gradually became the central part of recordBar’s identity.
The Westport venue remained in operation for more than ten years before closing after a sold-out farewell concert on 2 January 2016. Tulipana and Sherrill subsequently relocated recordBar to the larger premises at 1520 Grand Boulevard, reopening in the Crossroads district later that year. Capacity increased from approximately 300 at the original location to around 400, while the new venue added a larger stage, mezzanine and improved production facilities. Most concerts remain standing-room events, keeping the audience relatively close to the stage.
recordBar continues to operate as both a concert venue and a bar and restaurant, with an in-house kitchen alongside the main music room. Original music forms the majority of its concert programme, and the venue has hosted thousands of artists since 2005. Although it is not specifically a metal club, heavier music appears regularly. Recent examples include a sold-out Baroness concert in 2025, while the 2026 programme includes Havok, Hellripper and Xoth together on one bill and Exhumed with Savage Master, Molder and Jarhead Fertilizer on another.
The venue remains independently owned and closely connected with Kansas City’s musician community. Its development from a small Westport bar into a professional touring venue while retaining its relatively intimate scale has made recordBar an important part of the city’s independent live music infrastructure, including for rock, punk and metal bands that fall between small DIY rooms and Kansas City’s larger concert halls.
ADDRESS:
1520 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
Upcoming gigs at recordBar, Kansas City
Missing any gigs? Log in to submit them.
Back to Kansas City.