As cool as it sounds, even managing a rock club can become a bit of a grind if you do it long enough.
Since 1987, Mike Dougher has been booking shows in Chattanooga. Initially he energized the music schedule of The Sand Bar, an Amnicola Highway venue he co-owned and generously describes as “like a baseball mitt – old and broken in, but it worked.”
For the last 16 years, however, he’s been bringing bands to Rhythm & Brews, which is hosting its final three shows tonight, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26.
Dougher says it’s been easy to get lost in the many responsibilities he had as the Market Street venue’s manager, but as the final day approaches, the response from the music community has shown him that the club held great significance to many.
“That has taken me a bit by surprise,” he says. “Sometimes, it’s a case of being too close to the trees to see the forest.
“You just plow ahead and forget how many thousands of people go through there. I’ve had tons of people – total strangers – coming up to me at these [last] shows to say ‘Thanks.’ It’s been really cool.”
Rhythm & Brews was founded in 1999, taking over a space that housed SingSing, a dueling-pianos bar. Dougher, who had just sold The Sand Bar, initially helped the fledgling venue by booking a few artists to buttress its show schedule. Eventually, he was hired as the club’s manager.
Under his direction, the 350-capacity room has hosted groups, from local bands and regional tribute acts to nationally renowned artists such as Richard Thompson, Of Montreal, Neko Case and Zac Brown.
“Once I became active in the music scene, Rhythm & Brews was something of a local benchmark, as it was the biggest venue most local bands could reasonably expect to play,” recalls Travis Kilgore, a local bassist with bands such as Amber Fults & The Ambivalent Lovers and The Scarlet Love Conspiracy.
Kilgore’s wife, Heather, and daughter, Katie, both made their live performing debut at the venue, which makes its last days even more significant to him.
“Rhythm & Brews’ closing hurts my heart,” he says. “I’m certain something else will fill its niche within the local market but nothing will ever take its place in the hearts of countless local music lovers and music makers.”
Even in the midst of trying to keep all the venue’s cogs turning in sync, Dougher says he’s taken great pleasure in watching talented up-and-comers be recognized on a larger scale. The venue’s long, narrow stage has played host to many such rising stars, including Zac Brown Band and Sugarland.
Sometimes, Dougher says, a band’s potential almost slips by him. It wasn’t until the band’s soundcheck in 2013 that he realized Birmingham-based soul artist St. Paul & The Broken Bones was something special. He realized he had to act fast before the rest of the country caught on to the band’s razor-sharp, energetic take on classic soul.
“I’m no fool; I went right to the dressing room and signed them up for two more shows,” Dougher laughs. “I know good when I hear it, and that was good.”
The problem, he says, is that it hasn’t always been easy to get local audiences to trust his instincts. Early on, he couldn’t drum up any support for funk ensemble Here Come the Mummies, who have since graduated to featured dates at Riverbend and Track 29.
“I couldn’t beg 100 people to see them the first three times I ran them,” he says.
After Rhythm & Brews closes down, Dougher will move further down Market Street to book acts in the Chattanooga Choo Choo’s Revelry Room club. Despite the occasional wave of frustration he felt when a Rhythm & Brews show fizzled instead of going nuclear, however, Dougher is proud of what he and his team accomplished there.
“I feel like, at the end of the day, we did really good work,” he says. “I take a lot of pride in that. I really do.”
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.
If you go
Nathan Angelo with Tim Halperin and Brad Passons
When: 9 p.m. today, Sept. 24
Admission: $8
Strung Like A Horse with Megan Jean and The Family Band
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
Admission: $15 show only, $22 with newly released CD
Layla Shook benefit featuring Remembering January, Robby Hopkins Band, Nathan Farrow, Davey Smith and others
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
Admission: $10
Where: Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market St.
Phone: 423-267-4644
Website: www.rhythm-brews.com