Monday, April 24, 2023

Local Music Promoter Bob Stane Hospitalized, Coffee Gallery Backstage Permanently Closed

Bob Stane in an undated photo. [Coffee Gallery Backstage]

The 86-year-old Stane is a music legend and concert promoter who has been an inspiring and iconic figure in the Southern California entertainment scene for over fifty years. 

Stane supported and nurtured a generation of musicians and performers as co-owner of The Ice House in Pasadena from 1961 to 1978, helping to launch the careers of many famous artists, including Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and The Eagles.

After a failed attempt at retirement, Stane returned to show business in 1998 as owner and impresario of The Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, establishing it as one of the area’s premier performance venues. Closed last weekend, The Coffee Gallery Backstage was a 49-seat showroom connected to a coffee house called “The Coffee Gallery”. The Backstage was a listening room with a fine sound system, excellent lighting, comfortable seating and a warm, intimate environment.

Over the years, The Coffee Gallery Backstage hosted a wide variety of musical acts, from up-and-coming local bands to national touring artists. Some of the notable performers who have graced the stage at The Coffee Gallery Backstage include John Mayer, Norah Jones, Ben Harper, and The Lumineers.