Track 29 will celebrate its second anniversary on Sept. 1 as the third most attended club venue in the Southeast according to Pollstar, a leading trade publication that collects and supplies in-depth information about the worldwide concert industry.
Pollstar ranks the top 100 concerts venues in the world across several different categories based on total ticket sales during the first and second six-month period of each year. In the category of “Top 100 Club Venues,” Track 29 ranked 3rd in the Southeast and 78th in the world for the first half of 2013. Track 29 sold more than 22,000 tickets during the six month timeframe, just behind 72nd ranked The Tabernacle in Atlanta with nearly 25,000 tickets and 29th ranked The Orange Peel in Asheville, N.C., a venue which helped serve as an inspiration for Track 29.
“In our short history to already be ahead of popular, more established venues such as The Georgia Theatre in Athens and Work/Play Theatre in Birmingham is amazing,” says Track 29 owner Adam Kinsey. “And the fact that we are within 2,500 tickets of The Tabernacle in Atlanta, which is a much larger venue in a bigger city, says that we’ve become a strong force for placing Chattanooga on the schedules of even more nationally touring acts.”
Track 29 has also made an impact in its two-year history with some of the acts that have graced its stage. For example, former White Stripe and Raconteur Jack White played his first ever full-length solo performance at Track 29 to local fans and international media. Country superstar Luke Bryan played a charity performance at Track 29 just two weeks after being named the ACM Entertainer of the Year this past April. Corey Smith utilized Track 29 to record a performance for a live album titled “Live In Chattanooga.” And, mega superstars the Avett Brothers played a rare, intimate performance that sold out Track 29’s modest 1,700 standing room capacity in literally seconds.
“Being able to attract an act on the scale of Avett Brothers, a band playing huge venues at the time, was when I believe people around the South started paying attention to us,” said Mr. Kinsey. “And that’s good for Chattanooga too. A short drive and overnight stay is no problem if you can see your favorite band in a smaller venue with concert-quality sound and lighting.”
Unlike many venues of its kind, Track 29’s entire stage and state-of-the-art sound and lighting rigs can be moved back and forth within the facility’s 22,000 square feet to create an intimate concert experience that matches the size of each show’s crowd – from 750 up to 1,700 attendees. Track 29 also offers guests the ultimate concert experience with available Private Suites that feature comfortable seating, a dedicated wait staff, private restroom facilities and a bird’s eye view of the stage. What’s more, Track 29 provides hard working touring acts with the comforts of home in its unmatched dressing room facilities, officials said.
“Our goal two years ago was to offer Chattanooga a higher level of entertainment in the form of national touring acts that typically overlook the area due to the lack of a proper performance facility and lackluster ticket sales,” said Track 29 General Manager Monica Kinsey. “Thanks to a lot of research and considerations, advisors like Bonnaroo’s AC Entertainment and Axis Security and the overwhelming support of concertgoers in the community we’ve not only achieved that goal but are poised for even greater success in the future.”
In addition to dozens of shows and events this fall, including alt-country legend Dwight Yoakam, college-rockers Arctic Monkeys and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, Track 29 will continue to play host each month to Scenic City Roots, the local version of Nashville’s Music City Roots which showcases up and coming talent with a statewide broadcast on PBS recorded live at both Track 29 in Chattanooga and the Loveless Café in Nashville.
“Our goal now is to not only remain in the top 100 most attended club venues in the world,” says Mr. Kinsey, “but become the most popular in the Southeast – surpassing all of the legendary venues we admired when taking on the venture of Track 29 two years ago. Watch out for our third anniversary.”