First Avenue

First Avenue and 7th Street Entry are two music venues housed in the same building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The names are derived from the building's location: the corner of First Avenue and 7th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Locally, First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry are respectively referred to as The Mainroom and The Entry. They are considered to be a cornerstone of the Midwest music scene, and serve as a landmark of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The building is marked by 531 stars on its exterior along the First Avenue and Seventh Street sides.

The nightclub has been the starting point for virtually every single band to come out of the Twin Cities, including Prince, The Revolution, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, Willful Neglect, Semisonic, American Head Charge, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Dillinger Four, Dosh, The Jayhawks and Curtiss A, among others.

Bands and artists have performed at the nightclub and influenced the Minneapolis music scene from 1970 onward, as exemplified by the white stars that adorn the black building's exterior (every star has the name of an artist who has played at First Avenue or 7th Street Entry).

First Avenue also appeared in Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain, and many of the film's music performances take place at the venue.
U2 wrote part of October at First Avenue, during sound check.

Grammy Award winning Alt-Country star Lucinda Williams was married on stage, following her performance at First Avenue in 2009. She was the first professional singer to be married onstage at the night club, local scream queen, Rachel Grubb having wed a month before.

GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot played his last performance at the venue on November 3, 2011; he died hours afterward.