The Vanguard — Attraction in Orlando

5/5 Stars. Absolutely love this venue for any and all types of electronic music - especially love that the quality of the venue attracts top talent from around the world to visit Orlando!

As someone who's been dancing longer than most people who frequent The Vanguard, let me tell you why this event space is SO amazing after seeing some 15+ shows here post-COVID:

SOUND: This venue takes their sound quality seriously. The bass is obviously amazing, as it must be given the quality of the acts they book here, but so are the mids and highs. I bring earplugs but only a few acts have required I wear them.

STAFF: From the moment you get in line all the way to bottle or bar service and back to security, the folks here are amazing and NICE. You know the positive PLUR vibes you get at EDC? Well the staff at The Vanguard shows up with those vibes every weekend. I've seen these folks working insane crowds and hustling super hard to get us all in as fast as they can because they know we don't want to miss the music - all with a smile and positive energy. If you get VIP - even standing space - the staff becomes your best friend for the night and the upstairs area in the VIP sections is a place you'll never leave.

SPACE: I absolutely love the amount of space available at The Vanguard, though I do understand why people can feel cramped in the front once the main act goes on. Yes, it gets crowded on the rail, but you can always retreat to outdoor patios (in VIP or main entrance) for some fresh air and the space by the bars is usually easy to navigate. Bathrooms move pretty quickly and even folks lining the stairs to get a good view have plenty of space for folks to pass by.

SAFETY: We're in Orlando and times are weird. The Vanguard has thorough security at the door and in VIP to make sure everyone is where they're supposed to be. Additionally, they installed air filters post-COVID that not only keep the club smelling fresh (seriously, it's wild that my hair doesn't stink when I leave this place after hours of dancing), but also purify air quality. I went to this venue so many times after COVID policies changed and I've never once gotten sick here. Not even the Wook Flu from EDC after parties. *BONUS: The Air Conditioning in this place is legitimately insane considering how hard everyone is dancing.

And finally, LOT 54!!! I loved this back lot venue space and truly, this is where Insomniac shines. Super strong festival vibes from this space - the stage, the sound, the nitrous, the lasers, the flames, the glam bus, the VIP section with ear plugs and mints!! I absolutely loved seeing John Summit here and can't wait to see who's next!

Thank you, Vanguard + Lot 54 + Insomniac + all the amazing staff who make events come to life here. Having a resident EDC-like venue in the heart of my city is amazing and gives me excuse after excuse to fly friends in from all over...

Venue was OK until it became flooded with toilet water.

Sound quality was decent, with a good level of bass, and a standard line array setup for the main floor with good coverage in the front sections. Not a lot of clarity compared to modern, well-tuned sound systems though. Second floor sound quality was worse than the main floor.

The ALOK event was overbooked, and by the end of the night there was no room to dance. Even the bar area and bathroom entrance were packed shoulder to shoulder. It's pretty common for clubs to get packed on the main floor, but this venue was simply too small to fit this amount of people in.

The actual layout was nothing spectacular. There's an outdoor smoking area that was nice. The second floor area had limited viewing space, and as mentioned in the sound section, the audio quality suffered upstairs.

Light and laser show was great. Whoever was operating the visuals did an excellent job of keeping them in sync with the music. One of the better aspects of this venue.

I probably would have rated this place a four, since I had fun and they do book a lot of good artists. What killed the vibe for me was seeing the place flood with toilet water. Near the bathrooms, the bar area and about 1/4 of the dance floor were basically a pond. An inch of water was just standing on the floor throughout the night. Some people just splashed into it and weren't bothered, but when I saw that the water was coming from a toilet, it really disgusted me and several others that spoke up. Management should have called an emergency plumber to address this situation, but instead they just had some guy comically sweeping the water like the hurricane memes. The other side of the venue was also flooded, but I'm not sure where the water actually came from on that side. When the event ended, security blocked us from using the emergency exits outside, and instead corralled people to the official exits... which forced people to walk through an inch deep puddle of toilet water. For those wearing high boots, it wasn't that bad, but a lot of people with shallow sneakers had to submerge their feet into that filth before going home. Not a fun time.

So yeah, that's my honest review. Overall the club is mediocre, but they do host great talent. Just be sure to wear some waterproof boots unless you want sewer water soaking...

Update (5/2025) Simply the worst venue in Florida, if not the entire country, for high tier EDM artists.

Vanguard has had such a fall from grace, plagued by incompetent management who is incapable of receiving and acting on customer feedback. If you visit for an artist that is above mid-tier, expect to be packed in like sardines, unable to get a view due to the poor club layout, and wait in a long line.

VIP is not a good solution as your experience is secondary to bottle service which lines the upstairs rail. Downstairs is an absolute mess, and you will not want to be in that crowd.

Avoid at all costs, unless it’s a low-mid tier artist or an artist you absolutely must see, and if it is, get there early to get a decent spot and do not buy drinks at Vanguard until they act on customer feedback.

Old review: Keep up the good work Vanguard. A lot of thought & effort was clearly put into the renovation & reimagination of this historic downtown Orlando concert location (formerly Firestone Live & Venue 578, with a long history before that). Security lines move fairly quickly, door staff are friendly and not stereotypical, plenty of bartenders, great audio & visual production quality, and finally the partnership with Insomniac is really bringing some great talent in. This was worth the wait and feels like a professional concert venue like House of Blues or Hard Rock. Without a doubt, it is the best concert venue in Orlando right now. So long as they don't get complacent, I'm sure people will keep coming back.

Areas of improvement:

Maximum capacity limit is far too high for the layout of the venue. If you see a show is in tier 3, start getting hesitant. If it’s beyond tier 3, consider not buying tickets or selling the ones you have. There should always be somewhere in a venue where you can chill without being shoulder to shoulder (especially in Florida, and COVID era). Vanguard does not provide this when shows are beyond tier 3. You will be fighting for wherever you want to stand, unless you have bottle service. Vanguard, For popular/sold out shows, please reduce max capacity and increase price to recoup that money.

If a customer asks for their drink to remain in a can, give it to them. Again, there’s too many people and it was too easy...