TRACK29 BRINGS NATIONAL

ENTERTAINERS TO THE LOCAL STAGE.

Story by Keith Rawlston
Photography courtesy of Track29
WHY
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The Avett Brothers
play Track29 in
December, 2011.
Y
oull have to forgive
Adam Kinsey for finding
it hard to believe, even as
he saw it with his own eyes.
After all, it seemed like only
yesterday that this place, and
this capacity crowdsinging
along with the band, was little
more than a thought uttered
aloud.
Isnt that how every successful endeavor
begins? A scribble in a notebook. A moment
of realization. A single idea.
In the case of Adam Kinsey, owner of
Track29the new music venue on
Chattanoogas South Side thats creating a big
buzz, both among local concertgoers and on
the national music sceneit was a simple
question posed among friends.
Flash back to the 2009 Bonnaroo Arts and
Music Festival, where Adam, his then-girl-
friend Monica Maples (now Monica Maples-
Kinsey) and friend Josh McManus had trav-
eled to see a whos who of their favorite bands.
We asked ourselves Why do we have to
come to Bonnaroo once a year to see great live
music?, Kinsey says. We wanted to know
why these national bands werent coming to
Chattanooga on a regular basis. So, when they
got back to Chattanooga, they got to work,
asking questions, crunching numbers. They
researched other mid-sized cities that were
managing to bring in national talent.
Our intention was never to open a music
venue, Kinsey confesses. We just thought we
would put together the right group of people
to make some things happen. The research
led them to an unexpected conclusion: there
was a missing piece to Chattanoogas musical
puzzle.
At the time in Chattanooga, you had a
venue like J.J.s Bohemia that holds 150
people, or Rhythm and Brews, which holds
about 400, Kinsey says. After that, you
immediately jump up to 1,750 at the Tivoli
and 3,400 at Memorial Auditorium. There was
a big gap there in that 400-1,700 person
range.
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continued on page 13
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Our main goal is just to help
build the music scene in
Chattanooga for everyone
involved, thats something we
really want to see happen.
AdAM kInSEy
They wanted to create a concert hall modeled after some of the
Southeasts most successful venues, such as The Tabernacle in Atlanta,
The Valarium in Knoxville, WorkPlay in Birmingham and The Orange
Peel in Ashevilleall accommodating sizable audiences in an open
settingwith no seats.
continued on page 14
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The group sought investors and raised funds in 2010, and by years
end they had what they needed. The location they had in mind was
a 22,000-square-foot former ice skating rink, tucked in the back of
the Chattanooga Choo Choo campus. It offered everything they were
looking forexisting infrastructure, plenty of parking and enough
room to hold a big crowd. In keeping with the location they were
leasing from the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Track29 is the name of
the business venue.
Next, Kinsey made a very important phone call. It was to Ashley
Capps, founder of AC Entertainment in Knoxville, and co-founder
of the annual Bonnaroo festival. AC Entertainment is responsible
for putting together Bonnaroos lineup, as well as booking talent for
successful venues and festivals throughout the country.
Ashley and his team came down to see our venue and they loved
it, Kinsey says. They gave us some great ideas for what to do with
the space, and told us they wanted to handle booking our room.
One of the ideas that AC brought to the table was the concept of
Folk/Rock band, The Avett Brothers
energize a sold-out crowd at their
recent Track29 concert.
1 2 F E B / M A R 2 0 1 2
continued from page 11
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UPCOMING SHOWS
@ TRACK29
MuLTI-PLATInuM CounTRy STAR
TERRI CLARK on hER RooTS And
wIngS unPLuggEd TouR
FRIDAY, MARCH 16
FEATuRIng JEFF RoSS
$20 AdVAnCE TICkET/$25 AT ThE dooR
CounTRy MuSIC STAR JAKE OWEN
SATURDAY, MARCH 24
$20 AdVAnCE TICkET/$23 AT ThE dooR
OF MONTREAL PRESEnTS
ModERn CLASSICAL CoMPoSITIonS
FRoM ITS ALBuM PARALyTIC STALkS
FEATuRIng LonEy dEAR
FRIDAY, APRIL 6
$15 AdVAnCE TICkET/$17 AT ThE dooR
1 4 F E B / M A R 2 0 1 2
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continued from page 12
Monica and Adam Kinsey keep artists coming
back to Track29.
Track29s movable stagea feature that
allows them to pull the stage in closer for
smaller shows, and push it back to accom-
modate larger crowds.
When we bring in an artist, its not always
at full capacity, explains Monica, now
Track29s general manager and special events
coordinator. With the movable stage, we can
book for a crowd of 700, 900, or up to 1,800,
depending the artists draw.
That way, a show can still be a sellout
without being at max capacity, she adds.
The only other venue we know of in the
whole country with a movable stage is the
9:30 Club in Washington D.C.
With stage in placeas well as a full bar,
four VIP booths and state-of-the-art facilities
for artists and tour managersTrack29 offi-
cially opened September 1st, 2011 with a
performance by country music star, Jamey
Johnson. In the venues first three months of
operation, other well-known artists followed,
including religious southern rockers
Needtobreathe, songwriting legend John
Hiatt, blues guitarist Warren Haynes, indie
folk singer/guitarist M. Ward, and Grammy-
winning singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams,
just to name a few. And then, out of the blue,
the Kinseys received a phone call with some
big news.
AC Entertainment called and told us that
the Avett Brothers were looking for a place to
play before their New Years Eve show [at the
15,000-seat Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South
Carolina], Adam recalls. They wanted to
know if we were interested.
Of course, we were, Monica interjects,
not skipping a beat.
After all, the Avetts are one of the hottest
F E B / M A R 2 0 1 2 1 5
touring acts in the country. The popularity of
the award-winning folk/rock group, fronted
by brothers Scott and Seth Avett, has exploded
in recent years, particularly after the release
of their 2009 Album, I and Love and You,
which peaked at #16 on the Billboard
charts. The Concord, North Carolina natives
were in their comfort zone playing at Track29,
and quite possibly at their best. If it seems
like a bit of a coup for a 1,700-capacity venue
in Chattanooga, Tennessee to land an act like
the Avett Brothers, thats because it was.
From opening just four months earlier,
to all of a sudden having one of the biggest
acts touring right now in Chattanooga on
your stage, Adam says. I dont think
anybody thought that could happen.
These guys have been out there playing
venues ten times our size. However, on
December 30thjust one year from the day
Kinsey and company had secured funding for
the new endeavorhere they were. In
Chattanooga. On their stage.
Weve had four
sell-outs in just four
monthsI think that
says something
about this town.
AdAM kInSEy
And there was the crowd, who bought up
every last ticket for the show in a record 27
secondssome of whom having camped out
in tents to ensure a spot on the front row.
Not bad for a city with a reputation as a
walk-up crowda reputation that the
Kinseys would like to help put an end to.
I think shows like this will help put
Chattanooga on the musical map as a place
that artists want to come and play, Adam
says. Weve had four sell-outs in just four
monthsI think that says something about
this town.
Adam and Monica both say that Track29
is just getting warmed up, and that they have
big things coming in the spring.
Our main goal is just to help build the
music scene in Chattanooga for everyone
involved, Adam says. Thats something we
really want to see happen. So far, theyre
right on track.
Visit www.track29.co for more information.
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