April 16, 2007 22:47

Musicians arrested at New York venue

Artists held by police following protest at Tonic

Two musicians were arrested Saturday afternoon (April 14) as they protested the closing of Lower East Side venue Tonic.

According to Brooklyn Vegan, Marc Ribot and Rebecca Moore were part of a protest that began 11.30am on Saturday, and involved a number of performers staging a sit-in at the venue that had its final official performance the previous night.

The performance was halted by the NYPD at approximately 4pm, and the performers ordered to leave. Ribot and Moore refused to leave the stage and were removed from the premises in handcuffs.

Famous for it’s dedication to avant-garde music Tonic is one of several small venues in the Lower East Side neighbourhood that have been forced to close in recent times. Just last month Sin E staged its final show, and CBGBs famously shut its doors late last year. All three cite rising rents as the reason for their closure.

--By our New York staff.
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