Is the Legendary Chance Theater Closing Its Doors?

There have been rumors, but a recent Facebook posting seems to confirm the famed rock club will be closing.

The Chance in Poughkeepsie has been my home away from home for so many years, like 30 years to be exact. So many great memories and fun times catching some amazing rock shows. Sadly, back in August of 2021, owner and friend Frank Pallett passed away. A couple of months later saw the passing of sister Carolyn Pallett Brophy.

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Things at The Chance were never really the same after Frank and Carolyn passed on. Although the shows continued on, not seeing their faces at the venue regularly made things difficult when attending shows. It would be a regular routine to catch up with Frank and shoot the breeze about upcoming shows after a night at The Chance, but that was no more.

It was however an honor to recently help host the 1st Annual Rock Against Child Abuse Concert at The Chance, a benefit for the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse recently, which helped raise $3,000 for the organization.

Although no official posting from The Chance on social media appears to have been made regarding the venue closing its doors, a Facebook post about a show featuring the band Breach the Asylum indicates that the famed venue will be hosting its final weekend at the end of October. The posting says that Breach the Asylum is so glad to be part of the final weekend, playing with their good friend Eric Dalton, and goes on to say that The Chance Theater has been a special place for us for a long time, and this performance will mean a lot. They also encourage people to come out and mark the occasion which will be a special night for sure and that tickets will be available soon.

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When pressed by someone asking if the venue was in fact "going under", poster Vern Room (Breach the Asylum) replied, "The short version... YES.... but there will be new owners and pretty sure when it returns, it will be awesome! Just new peeps."

So the posting seems to indicate that whatever the future may be for The Chance, there is a plan for a final weekend being held at the end of October. Will new owners be coming into keep the famed venue rocking on? Or will it in fact be the end of an era and close for good? Guess we'll have to wait and see. And we'll wait to get an official word from The Chance as to if this is just speculation or fact. A look at the Chance website has numerous shows planned with nothing past October on the schedule. We do know that the venue had been on the market for many years.