The Queen

A staple of downtown Wilmington's Market Street, The Queen is a restored 1,100-capacity live music hall in a building that has stood since 1789 — first the Indian Queen Hotel, then a 2,000-seat movie palace from 1916 until it went dark in 1959, abandoned for five decades before a $25 million restoration reopened its doors on April 1, 2011. Live Nation has operated the room since 2017, booking rock, metal, hip-hop, folk, tribute acts and touring standup across two ticketed stages: the balconied Main Hall, with its carved pillars, disco ball, pipe organ and full-size stage, and the smaller Crown Room upstairs, which has its own private entrance and bar. Past bills include St. Vincent, Ben Harper, Ingrid Michaelson, Brian McKnight, Bob Mould, Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Courtney Barnett and the Dead Milkmen; recent comedy nights have brought Jim Norton, Andy Gross and David Nihill to the Main Hall. Two more rooms — the loft-style Olympia and the open-air Knight's Bar, which hosts a free Live & Local series — round out the 60,000-square-foot building. The box office sits at the front of the venue, open Wednesdays 2-6pm and 30 minutes before every show.