The Empire

History

The Empire is the all-ages room at 620 Ryland Street. Reno News & Review (February 18, 2025) profiles founders Chloe “Bug” Saunders and Noah Burton, who opened it because Reno lacked an all-ages space for metal and hardcore after Saunders’s previous booking room closed. They told the paper they received the keys the previous August, played a first show in March, and had hosted about 30 shows in under a year. The venue operates as a nonprofit and pays bands before the house.