Warren Haynes, Ben Folds, Jason Isbell, Rain coming to Tivoli

In this May 19, 2015 file photo, American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell poses for a portrait in promotion of his upcoming solo album "Something More Than Free" at the NYLO hotel, in New York. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

AC Entertainment, which took over operations of the Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium in June, today announced concert dates for Warren Haynes, Ben Folds, Jason Isbell and Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles at the Tivoli in the coming months.

Tickets for all four go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

The Knoxville-based music promotions company announced last month that Gary Clark Jr. will perform at the venue on Feb. 24, 2016. Haynes will perform on Oct. 9, Folds and yMusic will perform on Nov. 6, Isbell will play Nov. 8 and Rain is set for Feb. 8, 2016.

They represent the first bookings since the Tivoli Theatre Foundation Board was created and given the reins of both buildings on July 1. It tabbed AC to manage and program the venues. The city had managed and operated both since the Tivoli opened in 1921 and the auditorium opened in 1924.

"We are excited about the lineup," says Tivoli Foundation board member Bobby Stone. "It's a new day. Those venues are going to be a big part of what happens in Chattanooga in the future."

Stone also says the foundation has narrowed the list of candidates to become executive director of the facilities and "should be making an announcement soon."

AC founder and president Ashley Capps says the concert announcements are just the first steps in a long, always-evolving process designed to make Chattanooga into "world-renowned destination for artists and fans." It's a process that will take time, he says.

"The exciting thing here is the flow of events is starting to unfold," he says from his office in Knoxville.

The entire AC Entertainment staff traveled to Chattanooga on Tuesday to visit the city and both venues. AC also programs the touring acts that play Track 29 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo and will do the same for the soon-to-open Revelry Room there, as well.

"We love the venues. They have a lot of potential, but we know they need some work," Capps says.

The needed work includes maintenance and physical improvements, but also changes in the way the venues and the city, which is currently a second- or even third-tier destination at best for many acts, are perceived by fans, artists, agents and promoters.

In Knoxville, AC has managed the Tennessee Theatre since 1996, and the Bijou since 2006. It has also booked shows in clubs, theaters and the civic coliseum in Asheville, N.C., for more than a decade. Capps has personally been booking shows at both Knoxville facilities as a promoter for more than 30 years. All are popular destinations for artists and music fans today, but Capps says that wasn't always the case.

"It took awhile to get those venues on the radar," he said. "When we started booking shows in Asheville, it was not a destination town. It was in the mountains and had the Biltmore (Estate), but you could go in January on a Saturday night and it was deader than a door nail."

While Chattanooga is at a level higher than that, one of AC's jobs will be to increase its visibility on a wider scale.

"From the standpoint of the artists and the management, simply getting the city and the venue on the radar screen to consider is what we have to do," Capps says. "Like everyone else, artists get in habits, and we need to elevate Chattanooga onto their radar screens."

It also will be important for his office to get to know the community "and what it will respond to and what it will support," he says.

"Artists want to come to a city because people want to come to their show."

Haynes was here with his band Gov't Mule at last year's Southern Brewers Festival. He is also known as the former longtime guitarist for the Allman Bros. Folds is a singer-songwriter who fronted the Ben Folds Five, which had a Top 20 hit in 1998 with the song "Brick"; Folds disbanded the group in 2000 and embarked on a solo career.

Jason Isbell also started his career with a band, the Drive-by Truckers, playing with them from 2001 until 2007 then going off on his own. He is known for writing deeply personal, well-crafted songs in an Americana style.

Rain is regarded as one of the best Beatle tribute bands, hitting all the right notes sonically and visually.

"As far as our attitude, it's a new, fresh and exciting phase and I hope we stay excited about it," Capps says. "In the business we're in, it continually keeps itself fresh. We get excited every time we book a show anywhere."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.