Take a look inside The Bellwether, a new music venue opening in L.A. next week

In the weeks leading up to the official opening of a new Downtown Los Angeles concert venue, things are starting to take shape inside.

The plush green couches have been delivered, the individually made crystal chandeliers are lit and the eye-catching wallpaper is neatly hung. There are just a few final touches to be done before The Bellwether hosts its debut performance with synth-pop duo Phantogram on Tuesday, July 11.

“I still can’t believe we finally have the couches and decor, it’s been a long process, but it finally feels real,” co-founder Michael Swier said while plopping into a corner booth upstairs of what will soon be a VIP room for guests. “Still can’t believe we’re almost at the finish line.”

Located just off the 110 Freeway at 4th and South Boylston streets, The Bellwether will serve as a 1,600-capacity concert hall with a massive roundabout bar in the foyer, a custom-built sound system and a restaurant lounge. There’s also a private event space that Swier hopes will be an addition to future music festivals at the venue, which also features a stunning view of Downtown Los Angeles in the open-air seated lounge.

Co-founded by Swier, the man behind independent Los Angeles music spots The Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Lounge, and Gregg Perloff, who operates Another Planet Entertainment and the Outside Lands Festival in the Bay Area, the partnership happened organically and “clicked right from the start,” Swier shared.

“It was important for me, when looking at spaces, that we could grow an event space from The Moroccan or The Teragram, we wanted to have the foundations of independent music promotion still and when Another Planet came into the picture, everything came together so naturally,” Swier added. “Knowing their history of independent promotions up in the Bay Area and what they are still doing up there, it just made sense.”

In the mid-’90s, Swier opened what would become iconic independent venues, beginning with the Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom in New York, both similar in size and stature to their sister venues in Los Angeles. With The Bellwether, the space is capable of supporting acts of multiple genres as they transition from playing the 275-capacity Moroccan and the 600-capacity Teragram. The new addition is a crucial part to the booming ecosystem of local venues, he insists.