Crimewave books Revel for a late Saturday in January

The Saturday, Jan. 23 date puts a 9 p.m. show in the Northeast Heights room that took over an old sporting-goods store.

Albuquerque's January calendar just got a late-night anchor. Crimewave plays Revel on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, with a 9 p.m. start. Tickets are on sale through See Tickets, and the date was announced Oct. 26.

A 9 p.m. start in a room that holds 3,000 is a statement on its own. That's a club-hours booking in Albuquerque's largest dedicated concert space outside the arenas, the kind of night that runs well past midnight and fills the parking lot on Alexander Boulevard long after the restaurants on Jefferson have closed.

Revel deserves a closer look for anyone who hasn't been. The venue sits at 4720 Alexander Boulevard NE, in a building that used to be a Sports Authority store. Albuquerque businessman Daniel Chavez planned it as a $12.2 million entertainment and dining center, according to commercial real-estate coverage of the conversion. It opened in phases. KOB reported that the first phase, the bar and food hall, opened in March 2020 and almost immediately had to close because of the pandemic. A later phase added the concert hall, and the venue held a job fair to fill about 150 positions for it.

Since then Revel has grown into one of the city's busiest rooms for touring acts, and the owners have looked at expanding outdoors as well. A 3,000-capacity room fills a long-standing gap in Albuquerque, which for years jumped from small bars straight to amphitheaters and arenas with little in between. A headline show like this one is exactly what that middle-size room was built for.

A 9 p.m. start in a room that holds 3,000 is a statement on its own.

Some practical notes for the night. Late January in the Heights is cold after dark, so plan on the coat check or a quick walk from the car. The venue's food hall and bar mean you can make a whole evening of it without going anywhere else first. With music starting at 9, budget for a late night and line up your ride home before you head out.

On tickets, a Saturday show at a room this size is unlikely to sell out the first week. Still, the best spots on the floor tend to go to people who buy early and arrive early. The See Tickets link is live now, and two and a half months gives you plenty of time to round up a group.

January is usually a quiet month for live music in Albuquerque, after the holidays and before spring touring picks up. A big Saturday night at Revel is a good reason to get out of the house.

Sources: Albuquerque entertainment venue Revel set to open Monday — KRQE (digital-release.krqe.com); Multiplex entertainment center coming to Albuquerque this fall — KRQE (digital-release.krqe.com); Shuttered Sports Authority to become new entertainment venue — Connect CRE (connectcre.com); New Albuquerque entertainment center holds job fair — KOB (kob.com); Popular Revel entertainment venue in Albuquerque envisions new outdoor presence — Construction Reporter (constructionreporter.com); Revel Entertainment — Visit Albuquerque (visitalbuquerque.org); Crimewave tickets — See Tickets (prod-nts-api.seeticketsusa.us)