Crybaby, the Oakland nightclub known for packing its dance floor with everything from hip-hop to hardcore, announced this week that it's shutting down, giving fans just a few weeks to say goodbye to a venue that built its name on energetic, genre-diverse programming and local talent. The announcement came with no explanation, just a bittersweet thank-you and an invitation to come through one more time.
No Reason Given, Just a Goodbye
Crybaby broke the news in a Tuesday Instagram post, according to SFGATE, which reported that the club plans to close by the end of November. The venue did not give a reason for the abrupt closure in its post, per the same report. In its message, Crybaby reflected on “five years of loud music, sweaty dance floors, and the best people in Oakland,” adding that “the Bay for sure showed out.”
The club asked patrons to help make its last few weeks memorable and to come by for one final visit, the outlet reported. SFGATE noted that Crybaby's owners had not responded to a request for comment before publication, leaving the circumstances behind the shutdown unclear.
A Venue Born From The Uptown's Ashes
Crybaby first opened in early 2022 inside the space long occupied by the Uptown Nightclub at 1928 Telegraph Avenue, across from Oakland's Fox Theater, according to SFGATE's report. The Uptown had closed in 2020, and per oaklandside.org, that closure came after 13 years of live entertainment at the address. KQED reported that the Uptown had cited pandemic losses in shutting its doors in 2020, while the Uptown itself said at the time it could not afford to keep paying rent and other expenses with no income on the horizon.
Crybaby was founded by Miles Palliser, Dominic Green, Jesse Tittsworth and talent buyer Conrad Loebl, per KQED's reporting — though oaklandside.org later published a correction clarifying that Loebl was not actually a co-owner of the venue. The founders had opened the 400-capacity club with a specific vision in mind: a space without bottle service or roped-off VIP sections. Co-founder Jesse Tittsworth described the club's mission in terms of nurturing new talent, saying, “We've always enjoyed being that incubator.”
Genre-Hopping Lineups and a Vallejo Rapper's Big Night
That ethos showed up in Crybaby's booking from the start — its opening-era calendar spanned hip-hop, jungle, reggaetón and hardcore, reflecting the genre-agnostic approach the club's founders had promised. Over the years, the venue became a home for recurring Bay Area parties and dance nights, including its Hyphy Halloween event, per SFGATE's reporting. Earlier this year, Vallejo rapper LaRussell hosted a show at Crybaby that drew a large crowd, according to the same report.
What's Left on the Calendar
As of this week, Crybaby's listings still show several DJ sets and dance parties scheduled for the rest of November, per SFGATE. The club's own events page also lists “Life of the Party,” billed as Oakland's top First Friday party, with a TicketWeb listing advertising the event for Friday, December 4, at 10 p.m. with tickets starting at $0. SFGATE reported that Crybaby had scheduled its last show for December 4 — a date that falls after the club's stated end-of-November closure target, and the report did not clarify how the two timelines line up or whether the December event will go on as planned.
