Updated throughout.

The Clifton Park music venue Northern Lights is now called Upstate Concert Hall. None of the shows on the current schedule will be affected by the new name.

The change, effective today (5/18), is meant to signify a final break with the name and management of Northern Lights, although the team running the music venue has been in place for several years. The sole owner now, Stan Levinstone, has been the majority owner for more than three years; his buyout of the final 10 percent still held by original owner Kip Fink was finalized Thursday, according to Ted Etoll. Etoll, who owns the concert-promotion firm Step Up Presents, and Levinstone, whose New Jersey-based company is called SLP Concerts, took over Northern Lights in early 2009 following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing the previous year.

“We’re moving in a super-positive direction. The vibe is better, the energy is better, the quality of the shows has improved 50-fold, we’re paying all of our bills,” said Etoll. “All of that is why we’re changing the name — to separate ourselves from the past and get our own identity.” Physical improvements have been made to the facility, and upgrades to sound and lighting equipment have further improved the audience’s experience, Etoll said.

The suddenness of the name change was prompted by the recent arrival of a new liquor license for the name Upstate Concert Hall, according to Etoll. “You never know when it’s coming. You just get a letter in the mail one day,” he said. According to State Liquor Authority rules, a business that is changing its name cannot sell alcohol until a liquor license has been issued for the new name.

Etoll said the new name better represents the venue’s location and mission.

“There’s nothing celestial about Clifton Park. You certainly can’t see the Northern Lights there,” he said, adding, “We’re a concert hall, and we wanted a regional identity.”

The venue’s new URL, http://upstateconcerthall.com, for now redirects visitors to http://northernlightslive.com. The name of its Facebook page, which has almost 16,400 “likes,” will be changed to Upstate Concert Hall.

What do you think of the name?