Old Madison clubs such as Headliners and Mad Ave used to bring big-time celebrities to Madison. These days, Segredo, a boutique chic bar and restaurant that opened over a year ago on University Avenue, hopes to turn this region of the Madison bar scene into a classier entertainment district.
“This place used to get some big names back in the day. Megadeth, Ray Charles and Joe Cocker all played down here,” said Shayne Miller, Segredo’s general manager. “We are bringing back that history.”
Segredo is scoring big celebrity names with one of the top-ranked DJs in the world, Avicii. Avicii is only 21 years old but has already made a name for himself in the music industry as the 39th best DJ in the world. He took the world by surprise as he brought his music all the way from Sweden; it is fast becoming popular in America.
Avicii’s techno beats may use voice-overs from other songs, but he also dabbles in making his own original vocal works. Avicii has created a number of different songs but is most known for his worldwide hit “Bromance.”
“He will play all his songs, but once he plays ‘Bromance,’ this place is going to go nuts,” Miller said. “It is comparable to at a football game when they play ‘Jump Around.'”
Miller said it is going to be hard to stand still once Avicii gets the music going because his music is something that gets everyone on the dance floor in a massive rave. The techno music that Avicii plays is not just the latest trend; it has always attracted a large audience.
“This style of music is liked by so many people,” Miller said.
This is why Segredo expects a full house upon Avicii’s arrival – according to Miller, tickets are already close to being sold out. To make sure this concert is memorable, Miller said Segredo is going all out. He predicts around eight hours of set-up time to get things ready for the show and plans to construct a wall of sound, great lighting and a huge stage three and a half feet tall just for Avicii. Their plan is to allow concert-goers to hear the music loudly no matter their location within the club.
“You can’t be at Madison on Wednesday night without being able to hear us,” Miller said.
Many people are surprised that Avicii is not going to be performing at the Majestic Theater or Orpheum, but Miller is confident Segredo will not disappoint its guests.
“This is us proving that we are a venue like the rest of them,” Miller said. “I want to keep this show small and extremely special for everybody. We want to have it somewhat intimate.”
Segredo had to pull a lot of strings in order to score an appearance by Avicii.
“It was actually a combined effort of a lot of people. The Prime Social Group out of Columbus, Ohio, and also Runway Madison were the ones that did the hard work,” Miller said.
This is just the beginning for Segredo’s ultimate goal: to score other big name performances in the future. With Avicii’s upcoming performance, Segredo hopes to attract similar big name acts in the future.
“You can get anybody if you try hard enough,” Miller said.
Avicii will be playing at Segredo April 27. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are now $45.
