New York, August 12 – The grand old Loews Astor Plaza movie theater at 44th & Broadway has been reborn as a live music venue called Nokia Theatre Times Square. It’ll hold up to 2,100 people, and tickets go on sale August 12 for the inaugural season, which kicks off in October with punk veterans Social Distortion. The lineup includes diverse acts like Canadian rockers Simple Plan, Steve Winwood, STS9 and Bauhaus. The Nokia theater is the one that Australian comeback queen Olivia Newton-John wants for her New York stop.

The venue is located inside the Viacom/MTV building, and they put some fancy wiring in so that live acts can be broadcast via MTV. Even better, fans lining up for concerts can mingle with the already outrageous TRL crowds to further clog Times Square! Yay!