At long last, the Huntsville music scene will soon have a solution to a significant problem – the lack of music venues.
Since SideTracks Music Hall closed in 2022, Huntsville has been missing a full-time, club-sized venue for touring-level bands, despite the exciting additions of Mars Music Hall, Orion Amphitheater, and the forthcoming South Star Music Festival.
Tvg hospitality, the group behind Orion Amphitheater, had originally intended to launch a new music venue with a capacity of 350 in downtown Huntsville two summers ago.
The project, which is located at 108 Cleveland Ave. N.W. on the outskirts of downtown, was initially named Meridian Social Club before being changed to Meridian Arts Club. The space was previously occupied by A.M. Booth’s Lumberyard, which served as a bar, restaurant, and event space.
The opening date for summer 2022 had to be delayed twice, first to spring 2023 and then to 2024.
The downtown venue owned by tvg has finally announced its grand opening date, which is Oct. 13. The venue has also undergone a name change and will now be known as “The Lumberyard,” which is a shortened version of the previous name. The venue’s opening will be marked with a special event, the 10th anniversary edition of Microwave Dave Day, which promises to be a great success.
Since its debut in 2015 at the old Lumberyard, the daylong festival in honor of Huntsville’s renowned musician, bluesman “Microwave” Dave Gallaher, has quickly become a must-attend local music event.
The MDD festival has gone through some changes over the years. It used to take place on Washington Street in downtown Huntsville as a street festival. However, in recent times, the festival has shifted its focus towards food, nightlife, and retail development. It is now held at Stovehouse, which is located on Governors Drive in west Huntsville.
During Huntsville Music Office’s quarterly meetup, held at St. Stephens Music Hall on Tuesday night, the announcement was made that the new Lumberyard would host Microwave Dave Day 2024.
Upon receiving the news, the Microwave Dave Day Facebook page expressed their excitement with a post stating “WE’RE COMING HOME!!!!” The announcement also mentioned that MDD would be free to attend once again, with donations encouraged to support the Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation. According to the Facebook post, the highly anticipated event in 2024 will showcase over 50 local musicians performing across three stages.
St. Stephens, without an apostrophe, began welcoming guests this spring. The venue has an 80-person capacity and primarily features touring roots-inspired solo artists such as Webb Wilder, as well as local favorites like Snake Doctors and Amber Cavanaugh.
SideTracks had been the missing ingredient in Huntsville until now, and this new lane offers a fresh perspective.
SideTracks, over a period of five years, played host to some of the most noteworthy acts including Greta Van Fleet, Shovels + Rope, and Southern Culture on the Skids. Notably, the venue also saw a solo acoustic performance by Jason Isbell for a fundraising event.
Live music enthusiasts in Huntsville have been left with limited options for catching their favorite touring bands and veteran acts at the club level since SideTracks’ closure. The majority of these fans have had to travel outside of town to satisfy their craving for live music.
Regrettably, the highly anticipated reopening of Tip Top Café, a local institution known for hosting iconic acts like Bo Diddley, Concrete Blonde, and Widespread Panic during its peak in the late 80s and early 90s, never came to fruition.
TVG’s senior operations manager, Brian Teasley, is spearheading their rebooted Lumberyard project. The goal is to replicate Orion’s success in supporting big-name artists but tailored to club-level touring acts and popular local bands.
As a drummer for the renowned surf-rock band Man or Astro-man?, Teasley is a well-known figure in the music industry. Moreover, he is also the founder of Saturn, a much-loved venue in Birmingham that was acquired by tvg in early 2023. Saturn has made a name for itself by providing a platform for alternative rock acts such as Soccer Mommy, Dinosaur Jr., and Ty Segall.
Tvg’s The Lumberyard is getting a makeover with a new 350-capacity interior space while still retaining the funky open-air space out back. This space previously hosted the first Microwave Dave Day and will continue to do so this year.
