For the next installment in our series of interviews with independent venue owners, we spoke with Johnny Anton about his venue, The Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan.
The Token Lounge originally opened its doors in 1971 and was purchased by Johnny Anton (who at the time was the owner of another well-known Michigan live music venue, Blondies) in 1993. The venue had been closed for some time when Johnny purchased it but after renovating the space, he went about making The Token Lounge an integral part of the Michigan live music scene. We spoke with Johnny about what drove him to own music venues, the history of The Token Lounge, and how the Covid pandemic impacted the venue.
You can see our coverage of Humble Pie’s show at The Token Lounge here.
To read more about our cross-country fundraising trip for the National Independent Venue Foundation and Musicians On Call, click here. All donations go directly to your chosen organization. To donate to NIVF, click here. To donate to Musicians On Call, click here.
You can see our interview with Johnny here, and when you’re finished watching, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch future content.
