The Signal
Barry CourterOn Tuesday morning of this week, a crew was busy installing the sound system at the city's newest venue, The Signal.
I originally wrote "newest music venue," but in talking with co-owner Josh Billue and venue manager Tara Viland, it became clear the space, located on Chestnut Street in the old jump park across from Finley Stadium, will be as much for weddings and corporate events as it will for shows like the Lucero concert on Feb. 24 that officially opens the place.
You notice two things upon entering the main room in the roughly 20,000-square-foot building: It is wider than it is long, and the color scheme is relatively muted with grays, blacks and oranges.
"That's on purpose, because it's a delicate balance between special events and shows," said Billue, who owns The Signal with Chris Cobb.
"We wanted more of a blank canvas that people can work with."
The show pieces so far in the space are the steel beam columns that designers outfitted with lights. Tony Mraz will be adding art to the walls next week. On each side of the room are 40-foot bars. There is another 5-foot bar on the mezzanine, and for large shows, there will be satellite bars.
"The thing you notice about the bar is that even if you are in line, you are facing the stage," Viland said. "You can still see the show."
Backstage, stage right, are a couple of smaller green rooms for artists, a tour manager's office and a much larger green room upstairs. On the other side, a ramp leads from the rolling garage door to the stage for equipment load-in.
Cobb and Billue also own The Exit/In, Marathon Music and Hurry Back in Nashville, as well as The Truman in Kansas City. Both have long-term relationships with AC Entertainment in Knoxville. AC currently books shows for the Tivoli Theatre, Memorial Auditorium, Revelry Room and Songbirds Guitar Museum and previously booked shows at Track 29 before it closed.
Viland said The Signal, with its 1,500-seat capacity, fills a niche and is another piece of the local music puzzle. Most, if not all, shows at The Signal will be standing only.
"I'm all about local," she said. "We need the Tivoli and Memorial Auditorium and JJ's Bohemia and Revelry. If you need to sit at a show, maybe the Tivoli is the better fit. We can all work together."
Washed Out follows Lucero on Feb. 25 and Gramatik with Haywire and Balkan Bump are there on Feb. 27.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.