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The East End complex in Akron encompasses apartments, retail space and two new music venues,the Goodyear Theater and Goodyear Hall.

(Courtesy of GoodyearTheater.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Just in time for what's already looking like the busiest summer concert season in recent history comes news of two new venues in Northeast Ohio - the Goodyear Theater and Hall in the East End Complex in Akron.

Tuesday's announcement of the complex's concert sites came with news of the first four acts to play there, and the dates they'll be there: the legendary (and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-eligible) Smashing Pumpkins, Friday, April 29; singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw, Saturday, April 30; Grammy-winning Americana singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, Saturday, June 4; and kid-favorite Kidz Bop on Wednesday, April 27.

Built in 1920 and used since then for a variety of purposes, this is the first time the Goodyear Theater and Hall has been used for music and entertainment, according a release from partners the Industrial Realty Group and Industrial Commercial Properties and Cleveland's The Elevation Group.

The East End, which encompasses the venues, is based in the Goodyear headquarters at 1201 E. Market St. in Akron. The theater will have a seated capacity of nearly 1,500, and the hall will seat 3,500. The shows announced Tuesday all will be in the smaller, more intimate theater. The two will share a common wall.

Both are sizes that are distinctly lacking in Northeast Ohio. Though there is a plethora of venues - both new and established - those seating capacities could seriously open the floodgates for a variety of acts and bands.

The organizers said the new venue includes the East End Residence Loft Apartments, office space and the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. Other restaurants and retail outlets also are in the plans, according to the release.

"We just think that, based in Akron, we have the more catalytic project," he said. "Northeast Ohio certainly has had success with development in this part of the cycle, but a project of this size in Akron is going to be much more impactful to the Akron community than a project of an equal or ... lesser size in Cleveland, which already has a lot of its development substantially completed," IRG Senior Vice President Peter Goffstein told The Plain Dealer's Michelle Jarboe in a story last fall about plans to seek tax credits for the program.

Tickets for the Smashing Pumpkins, with support act Liz Phair, $49.50 to $79.50, plus fees; DeGraw, $35 to $135, plus fees; and Isbell, with opener Hiss Golden Messenger, $30 to $45, plus fees, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 18, at the venue's temporary box office at 2340 Mercantile Road, Suite 10, in Beachwood; online at ticketfly.com; and by phone at 1-877-435-9849.

All shows begin at 8 p.m.