Joyland Country Music Club Moving To New Location

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Joyland, Bradenton’s iconic country music hotspot, is moving from its Bradenton digs to a new location in Manatee County.

Though the venue didn’t disclose the exact address, the new location is on the north side of University Parkway on Lockwood Ridge Road between University Town Center and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, Joyland’s owners shared on the club’s Facebook page Feb. 4. This new spot borders Sarasota County.

In addition to beer and liquor, the new venue also has a full kitchen and will offer a late-night menu until 2 a.m., according to the post.

“Our goal throughout this process is to maintain the Joyland country heritage and community we have all come to know and love, but also update the business to be more intimate and diverse,” Joyland staff wrote on Facebook. “Our new location is being remodeled to maintain the Joyland sound and feel, but with a new, clean, modern, yet rustic vibe, like clubs on Broadway in Nashville. We plan to have your favorite DJs, local bands and artists, as well as touring artists and songwriters from Nashville and beyond on our concert quality stage.”

Joyland first opened in 1958 in Pinellas Park, the Bradenton Herald reported. After several moves, it landed at 5520 14th Street West in Bradenton in 1994, where it’s stayed for nearly three decades.

There were some questions about the landmark venue’s fate when its owner, Rick Lambert, announced his retirement in 2018 and shut the club’s doors, reports said. But two local country musicians, Scott Serbin and Peter Mendelsohn, both members of the Daisy Dukes Band, which frequently performed at Joyland, bought the property and reopened the venue in 2019, The Suncoast Post reported.

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Serbin and Mendelsohn have been considering moving the club since early in the pandemic.

“As you all know, the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting regulations have forced all bars and nightclubs to close until further notice or to open with debilitating processes and restrictions,” they shared on the venue’s website. “It also forced us to look at what the future of a night club and music venue with concerts might be.”

Since taking over the club, they’ve been dedicated to making improvements through various upgrades and additions, they wrote, promising the same enthusiasm for creating “a better club and a better concert experience” at the new location.

They also acknowledged the difficulties many bars, clubs and music venues have faced during the coronavirus pandemic, especially with many owners striving to stay open and save their businesses.

“Luckily, we have the ability and the means to wait this out and come back revived in a new location, a better location, built out to our specs, for the best live music and party atmosphere, and with food, but it won’t be easy,” the owners wrote. “It certainly won’t be without the support of the Joyland friends, family, fans and bands. You all are the soul of this place. You all are the heartbeat that has kept the place stomping for all these years.”