After five years hosting live music and events, one of Oakland’s cherished nightlife venues plans to close its doors for good.
“Crybaby is closing its doors at the end of this month, and all we can say is THANK YOU,” operators posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Nov. 10. “To everyone who came through, black, brown, queer, and every community in between — *you* made us what we are.”
The post did not provide a specific reason for Crybaby’s impending closure. Owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Located at 1928 Telegraph Ave., in the building previously occupied by Uptown Nightclub, Crybaby has become known for fostering a safe, inclusive community in terms of both its programming and its patrons. The 400-person venue has hosted a vast range of events since opening in 2022, from lesbian wrestling to rap, hip-hop and electronic concerts as well as after-parties.
Early last year, Jesse Tittsworth and Dominic Green, who help run Crybaby, launched a second venue in Oakland called Ceremony. At nearly double the capacity of Crybaby, the two-story space at 1220 Broadway, aimed to attract more touring acts and international talent than its predecessor did.
“We wanted to create a space that kind of fit between the small music venues and the larger ones, like the Fox and the Paramount,” Green told the Chronicle in February 2025. “We just felt within Oakland there is a need for that.”
Despite the vision, the venue has had no upcoming events listed on its site for months. Its Instagram account has also been fairly inactive this year.
Crybaby’s closure marks a significant step backward in Oakland’s post-pandemic efforts to revive via the arts. There have been encouraging signs elsewhere, notably in Oakland Theater Project’s takeover of the former New Parish, announced last month. Still, the Crybaby news comes days after Oakland First Fridays, a free monthly street festival downtown, canceled its November event “due to funding challenges.”
