Where Does Live Music Still Feel Personal?
Do bigger venues create bigger experiences—or do they take us further away from the music?
In this episode of Americana Curious, Ben Fanning and Zach Schultz debate whether arenas have changed the live music experience for the worse and share the intimate venues that have left the biggest impression on them.
From Charleston's beloved Pour House and Nashville's legendary Robert's Western World to First Avenue in Minneapolis, Red Rocks, the Ryman Auditorium, and hidden gems you've probably never heard of, they explore why some venues create unforgettable nights while others simply host concerts.
Along the way, they share stories about seeing artists like John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Charlie Crockett, American Aquarium, Mount Joy, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mason Jennings, and many more—and explain why discovering music in small venues may be one of the best investments any music fan can make.
In this episode you'll discover:
- Why small venues often create deeper connections between artists and audiences
- The independent venues every Americana fan should visit
- How outdoor venues transform the live music experience
- Bucket-list music destinations across America
- Why supporting local venues helps keep live music alive for future generations
Whether you're planning your next concert road trip or simply looking for your next favorite venue, this episode will inspire you to get closer to the music—and stay curious.
Also follow us and join the conversation on Instagram and YouTube.
Transcript
There are some locations, some venues that seem to channel the best from the musicians and how they show up.
Speaker B:Centered right in the middle of the Minnesota Zoo, a little amphitheater that got great acts.
Speaker B:It was the first time I saw John Prine, Willie Watson, who had just left Old Crow, Medicine show, the Jayhawks,.
Speaker A:Mason Jennings, Speak em all language, my friend.
Speaker B:It wasn't a big venue.
Speaker B:Felt like you were right on top of the act.
Speaker B:There was not a bad seat.
Speaker B:It was just a special place.
Speaker A:Which leads me to a place that you introduced me to in Nashville.
Speaker A:Roberts Western World.
Speaker B:One of the last true honky tonks on Broadway.
Speaker A:The music there is not to be missed.
Speaker A:And this is like a little jewel in the middle of the chaos.
Speaker B:We've talked about a few indoor.
Speaker B:But what makes the live experience outside so special?
Speaker A:It's just like another amplification to the senses.
Speaker B:My favorite in Colorado, the obvious Red Rocks.
Speaker B:Love it.
Speaker B:One other venue is up in the Poudre Canyon.
Speaker B:It's called.
Speaker A:Raw Real Road Worn.
Speaker C:The artists we feature aren't chasing fame, they're chasing truth.
Speaker C:I'm Ben Fanning with my co host Zach Schultz and this is Americana Curious where we spotlight the unsung heroes of Americana music.
Speaker C:You'll get new songs, hard earned lessons, stories behind the music and a big shot of inspiration.
Speaker C:Follow the show and rate us on Spotify and Apple and leave a review on Apple to help more people discover.
Speaker A:The power of Americana.
Speaker C:Americana.
Speaker C:Let's get Americana Curious.
Speaker A:Hey there everybody.
Speaker A:This is Ben Fanning, co host of Americana Curious.
Speaker A:I am with my partner Zach Schultz and we're gonna share with you today our top music Phoenix to enjoy music.
Speaker A:So asking Zach to kick it off here.
Speaker A:Zach, what is your first venue?
Speaker B:All right, it's no longer around.
Speaker B:It's a local place up in Minnesota.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It was centered right in the middle of the Minnesota Zoo.
Speaker B:So it was a little amphitheater that during the day when the zoo was open you had bird bird shows and, and like anyway, they turned it into.
Speaker B:Local promoter Sue McLean turned it into a music venue and it got great acts.
Speaker B:And I only bring it up because it was the first time I saw John Prine was at the Minnesota Zoo with my wife and John had decided that he was going to fly in day of the show and got delayed.
Speaker B:So show starts at 7.
Speaker B:Willie Watson, who had just left Old Crow Medicine show, was the opener and Willie kept playing on and, and on and on for, you know, hour, hour 20.
Speaker B:Everybody's kind of wondering where John is And all of a sudden you hear the cars coming from the back of the lion area of the thing.
Speaker B:And here walked out John and played for two and a half hours through the night on a Thursday, I believe it was.
Speaker B:And I saw His golden messenger at the Zoo St. Paul and the Broken Bones at the zoo, the Jayhawks, Mason Jennings.
Speaker B:I mean, just an incredible venue.
Speaker B:We were so sad when it went away.
Speaker A:But yeah, what, what do you believe that venue contributed to the music you saw?
Speaker A:And why that?
Speaker A:Why did it make it so special?
Speaker A:Other than the animals, of course.
Speaker B:Yeah, you could sometimes hear the animals around.
Speaker B:But what made it special is just the setting with.
Speaker B:It wasn't a big venue.
Speaker B:Maybe thousand seat, little amplifier.
Speaker B:You felt like you were right on top of the act.
Speaker B:And there was not a bad seat in this place.
Speaker B:The scenery, it was just a special place.
Speaker B:Sadly, they the zoo and the contract with the promoter ended and they went away.
Speaker A:Well, long live the zoo venue in the Minneapolis area.
Speaker A:And long live John Bryan.
Speaker A:Because every episode we seem to mention the great John Brian.
Speaker B:All right, tell me one of yours.
Speaker A:Well, for me it's one near our house here in Charleston, South Carolina called the Charleston Poor House.
Speaker A:And it's about.
Speaker A:It's been about 450 people.
Speaker A:And very similarly to the zoo setting, you feel like you are right there with the artist.
Speaker A:And it is sort of a.
Speaker A:It's not a fancy looking place, but the way it's designed, the stage is very low.
Speaker A:It's again 450 people.
Speaker A:And there's two ways to enjoy a show.
Speaker A:There's like an erg, there's like a deck and a big open deck area that has an early show and then there's a later show on the inside.
Speaker A:And the shows I have seen there, Zach, I felt so close to the artist.
Speaker A:The green room, I believe is super small.
Speaker A:So the artists are kind of off and out, like near the crowd which were milling about.
Speaker A:The crowd, they get on stage.
Speaker A:And recently we saw Bella White who came on the show.
Speaker A:One of those memorable ones was we saw a Charlie Crockett come through on a Sunday night and play that sold it out a lot of fun.
Speaker A:And we just felt again so close to the music and on the outside deck that the early shows, we've seen Cordoba's, we've seen the collection, David Wimbush, the collection.
Speaker A:We've seen another alumni of our show, Bronwyn, she goes by Bronwyn now.
Speaker B:She's a one named artist now.
Speaker A:Stellar fiddle player, musician, songwriter, singer.
Speaker A:And what brings this together I think so beautifully for anybody that's come to Charleston see a show other than that is that there's a very positive community of people, like regulars that go to the show there.
Speaker A:When you go, you see people there that, that go often.
Speaker A:And the owners really respect the musicians, they respect the people attending.
Speaker A:And it's not just music, it's community.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'd like to ask a follow up.
Speaker B:So, you know, we got a similar club that's on my list up here called the Turf Club and it's a 450 seater dive bar.
Speaker B:I mean the green room is just into the kitchen so you can kind of see the guys back there.
Speaker B:You know, I've seen American Aquarium there, plays most of their shows when they come through town, there's.
Speaker B:And they kind of, you know, Paul Cawthon was so late to the show, he came in the front door the time I saw him there, which was kind of wild.
Speaker B:So what do you.
Speaker B:And you see, like you said, the same faces of like the community, the music lovers are at these same shows.
Speaker B:I run into my buddy Chris or Kyle, you know, I know they're going to be there.
Speaker B:You don't have to text about it.
Speaker B:So what makes that small venue scene?
Speaker B:I guess I don't want to say better than a larger venue, but to me, better.
Speaker B:Better than a larger venue.
Speaker A:I think it's better.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's what?
Speaker A:Well, I'll say it's better for the audience.
Speaker A:It's not always better for the musician because they can make more money playing a bigger venue and I respect the fact that they make more money and they can sell out bigger, bigger places.
Speaker A:However, being closer is usually better because the audience usually feels more connected and distance to the musician matters.
Speaker A:Distance.
Speaker A:You know, I think if you're 3ft versus 10 versus 50ft, it's not a massive, massive difference.
Speaker A:But if you are way up in the third level, it is tough for a musician to make that kind of connection.
Speaker A:And to be honest, the only musician I've ever found to be able to connect like that is Brandy Carlisle.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:I could see her at the poor house or I could see her at a giant football stadium.
Speaker A:It would be.
Speaker B:And still feel connected.
Speaker B:Yeah, she's got a special way to do that.
Speaker B:I agree with you.
Speaker B:Where she can almost.
Speaker B:If you're in the top row, she, you, you feel like she's singing.
Speaker B:I've never been in the top row thanks to my wife.
Speaker B:Getting good tickets, I'll say that.
Speaker A:But shout out to Lissa.
Speaker B:Yes, but you could.
Speaker B:It Almost feels like she's singing to each individually, personally.
Speaker B:And that's what we love about Brandy.
Speaker A:One of the things I hope listeners will take away from this is, you know, you may be spending big, big dollars at the big, big shows.
Speaker A:You know, we're.
Speaker A:We're going to go to Chris Stapleton, and that's going to be a giant situation.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:We're gonna.
Speaker A:We're gonna enjoy that.
Speaker A:However, you know, don't discount these local, small venues in your community.
Speaker A:We can pay 10, 15, 20 bucks and get a wonderful show.
Speaker A:And you can be.
Speaker A:I'll say it allows you to be more curious, because it's hard to be more curious when you're spending 200 bucks on a big arena show.
Speaker A:Like, you either know the artist, you love them, you're going all in, or you're not.
Speaker A:But these smaller venues, it's a little bit less expensive.
Speaker A:It's more flexible.
Speaker A:You can get tickets.
Speaker A:It's a great place to discover new music.
Speaker B:Zach Four dollar High lives at the Turf Club, by the way.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:So that's.
Speaker A:You're not gonna find that deal many places.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which leads me to mentioning.
Speaker A:I want to give a shout out to a place that you introduced me to in Nashville, Robert's Western World on Broadway.
Speaker A:I don't know how much the highlights are there, but they might be less than $4.
Speaker B:They're $3, I believe.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Highlight Zach knows this.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:He changed his name to Americana Zach.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:He's the artist formerly known as Highlights Zach.
Speaker B:Well, you can the recession special, which is the fried bologna sandwich, a bag of chips, a moon pie, and a PBR for $2.
Speaker A:And you cannot get that.
Speaker B:That's at Robert's Western.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, yeah, a quick story.
Speaker A:Zach and I were flying to enjoy some music in Nashville.
Speaker A:Zach's like, we are getting in early.
Speaker A:Y' all should just meet us at 10am at Robert's Western World.
Speaker A:And I thought, 10am like, what, Josh starting there.
Speaker A:And do you remember who was blind that morning?
Speaker B:It was the Mr. Jukebox.
Speaker B:Josh Headley.
Speaker B:Joshua.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Who.
Speaker A:Who is.
Speaker A:You may not know Josh, but you check out his music.
Speaker A:But he's played with many, many greats, and he's a great himself.
Speaker B:Yeah, he was in Justin Towns Earl band before Justin passed away.
Speaker B:So, yeah, he's what.
Speaker A:What a talent, man.
Speaker B:Roberts is the last, in my opinion.
Speaker B:Maybe I'll go with Acme as well, but one of the last true honky tonks on Broadway.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It's A great one.
Speaker A:And it's an old shoe store.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's why I got Robert's Restaurant World.
Speaker A:Lots of old cowboy boots.
Speaker A:I thought, I don't even sell the boots anymore.
Speaker B:And it has something to do with being the original.
Speaker B:Way back when.
Speaker B:Ryman Auditorium.
Speaker A:Oh, it's the original rhymer.
Speaker B:Yes, something like that.
Speaker A:Yeah, let's.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then for listeners, Zach and I will reveal something about this place that we discovered.
Speaker A:If you go to the back.
Speaker A:So you go to.
Speaker A:Go to the back of Roberts, you go up the stairs, there's another little bar, and you go to the back of that, there's a back door exit right to the back door of the Ryman, which happens to be where a lot of musicians take their picture.
Speaker A:They go on the.
Speaker A:On stage at the Ryman, which for a lot of them is like the Mecca of music.
Speaker A:And we had a funny story in that we went to see American Aquarium and we.
Speaker A:And we're getting ready.
Speaker A:We're kind of, you know, having our.
Speaker A:Having our earth.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So we actually went back to Robert several times.
Speaker A:But we go back and who do we see taking their pictures but BJ and his band from American Aquarium?
Speaker A:And we got the fanboy and waited.
Speaker B:Yes, we took selfies with them in the back.
Speaker A:Selfies are a little humiliating, but, yeah, we had a good time with that.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:But, yeah, the music there is not to be missed.
Speaker A:You know, it's all about the vineyard, Roberts.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because they are providing the space along Broadway, which is kind of like the Las Vegas of different kinds of country music, not necessarily Americana.
Speaker A:And this is like a little jewel in the middle of the chaos.
Speaker A:And shout out to Robert, Western World.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What's your next one, Zach?
Speaker B:I just got to throw in obvious.
Speaker B:For obvious reasons.
Speaker B:I'm born and raised in Minnesota.
Speaker B:I have to say First Avenue, I mean, made famous, legendary by Prince and Purple Rain.
Speaker B:But I mean, I've seen so many shows over the years.
Speaker B:Mason, Jennings, the Jayhawks, multiple times, year after year.
Speaker B:They used to do a Christmas show there every year.
Speaker B:The first time I saw Turnpike Troubadours was there.
Speaker B:I mean, I can go on and on, but it's just a legendary venue.
Speaker B:You feel.
Speaker B:You feel Prince when you're walking in there.
Speaker B:And then all the stars on the side of the building from, you know, whoever's played there.
Speaker B:And it's just iconic Minnesota venue right on First Avenue, even pop in there before you go over to a.
Speaker B:A Timberwolves game and.
Speaker B:Or after.
Speaker B:But yeah, it's a great place You've seen it.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:And it's an old.
Speaker A:It's an old bus station, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so central right there in the city.
Speaker A:So much character.
Speaker A:It's in the Purple Rain movie.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And if you haven't checked out our Mason Jennings interview yet, you will be tickled because he tells a story about he's playing there and his buddy told him that Prince was doing air guitar during his first.
Speaker B:What a story.
Speaker A:Like you go to Minneapolis, right?
Speaker A:You need to check out the Turf Club.
Speaker A:And first out, just like check to see who's playing.
Speaker A:If there's someone that builds your curiosity, go check it out.
Speaker B:And then also on an.
Speaker B:There is a.
Speaker B:Attached to the back of the 1st Ave. Is a place called the 7th street entry where they play.
Speaker B:It's maybe 250 seater, maybe less.
Speaker B:No seats by the way.
Speaker B:There's one bench in the back.
Speaker B:But it's a great venue for like up and comers.
Speaker B:But sometimes they get a little bit bigger before they're.
Speaker B:They've played the entry.
Speaker B:Like one show comes to mind last year when Fast, who I love Fast came through and the place was absolutely over capacity and just a great show from Fast.
Speaker A:We got to get those guys on here.
Speaker A:Yes, guys, I got a story to tell.
Speaker A:Yeah, I love that Again.
Speaker A:So you've got multiple options in Minneapolis.
Speaker A:There's really no excuse for not just checking it out.
Speaker A:Search these venues.
Speaker A:What are you going to be in town?
Speaker A:Check them out.
Speaker A:L. Thinking about Charleston again.
Speaker A:Talk about the Poor House.
Speaker A:Other one's the Wind Jammer.
Speaker A:A lot of people heard about this.
Speaker A:It's actually.
Speaker A:It's one of the few venues of this size that's on the beach and it's actually right next to Charleston on the island called the Isle of Palms.
Speaker A:Hey, kind of like the Poor House.
Speaker A:There's like an indoor option and there's like an outdoor option.
Speaker A:So you can.
Speaker B:Or something.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Is there like a big giant tent?
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker A:It's actually not a tent.
Speaker A:It is just outdoors.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker A:The band is playing cover sort of like in a tent.
Speaker B:Okay, gotcha.
Speaker A:But they are physically on the beach.
Speaker A:The stage or the like where you stand is right outside of that.
Speaker A:So you're in part of its own sand where you're standing.
Speaker A:Part of it's like on a raised wooden platform.
Speaker A:The shows there are about twice as big as the Poor House.
Speaker A:So we're looking at capacity of around a thousand to eleven hundred people.
Speaker A:And then if it rains, the people that bought their tickets early, early like in the order get to go inside and see the band indoors, a smaller capacity inside, probably about 600 people on that.
Speaker A:But this place you get to see.
Speaker B:Go home or what?
Speaker A:Yeah, they don't.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, if it rains, what are you gonna do?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So, yeah, is this.
Speaker A:It's an outdoor show, so the show does go on, but I reduced capacity.
Speaker A:Fortunately, this only happened to me one time.
Speaker A:It's actually the second time I was planning to see Charlie Crockett, ironically, and I didn't have an early ticket, so I didn't get to go in.
Speaker A:But a couple of things about this, I think, make it so special.
Speaker A:One is if, like, when you.
Speaker A:When you're enjoying this, it starts early because there is a noise ordinance on the Isle of Palms.
Speaker B:I like that.
Speaker A:The show starts at 7 or 8, which is fantastic.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Then it's over early.
Speaker A:And then what happens is there's another band that plays indoors.
Speaker A:It's more of a house band, so it starts and goes late, but you get to enjoy that there.
Speaker A:Also, when you enjoy a show there, you usually get to see the sunset, and it's really a cool thing.
Speaker A:So you kind of start the show, there's light.
Speaker A:You can kind of see the band experience in that setting.
Speaker A:And then as the show goes on, it gets darker, the lights come on.
Speaker A:So it's almost like you're enjoying two different settings altogether.
Speaker A:And we have seen bands before.
Speaker A:They go on.
Speaker A:They'll, like, come down the boardwalk and walk down to the beach real quick, get some band photos, then come back, jump on the stage and play.
Speaker A:And you would be surprised.
Speaker A:You Minneapolis folk.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:How long, like, the shows on the beach run from.
Speaker A:We're talking, like, March all the way through October.
Speaker A:It's like over half the year.
Speaker A:They will do shows on the beach stage.
Speaker A:The last band we saw was a few nights ago.
Speaker A:It was the last stop on the Mount Joy concert tour.
Speaker A:They actually played the previous night at a huge stadium here in Charleston called Credit one.
Speaker A:That's also very nice, but big.
Speaker A:And then during the show, they announced, oh, yeah, we're gonna play one of the venues where it all started for us.
Speaker A:They'll win jabber tomorrow night.
Speaker A:So tickets flew like hotcakes.
Speaker A:My friend Doug, fortunately, had a ticket for me to go, so I went with him.
Speaker A:And Mount Joy talked about how independent music venues are becoming few and far between.
Speaker A:In other words, when you're independent, you get to.
Speaker A:And the poor, Al says, too, you get to make your own decisions on who plays.
Speaker A:But a lot of venues nowadays are beginning to get up with certain ticket promoters, certain ticket selling entities and they're really like required.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To host at least a certain amount of shows with them.
Speaker A:So they lose a lot of independence at the poor house, the Wind Jammer.
Speaker A:I suspect the other ones we mentioned today are independent.
Speaker A:So they've got someone in house thinking about what kind of music fits their, their venue the best, what kind of musicians who their crowd likes to hear and making it all happen.
Speaker A:And it's a really special place.
Speaker A:It's got a storied.
Speaker B:So cool.
Speaker A:Yeah, huge storied.
Speaker A:Lots of big time musicians have come through there.
Speaker A:But regardless, I think if you can, if you come this way, it's a great place to go.
Speaker B:So let me ask a follow up on.
Speaker B:We've talked about a few indoors venues here and a few outdoors.
Speaker B:Well, we talked about one.
Speaker B:I'm going to talk about another one coming up.
Speaker B:But what makes the live experience outside so special for you?
Speaker A:What is it, man?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I think that's a great.
Speaker A:Zach, you should do some interviews.
Speaker A:You should be a good interviewer.
Speaker A:To me, I think there's a feeling of being with nature and music.
Speaker A:It's like experiencing when you have great music and great food or great music and a great beer or you have.
Speaker A:Or you have music and you're with great people.
Speaker A:When you introduce a positive environment that's outdoors, it's just like another amplification to the senses.
Speaker A:I know it's kind of metaphysical for a lot of people, but I suspect everyone here probably knows or remembers a band they've seen outdoors, where the wood's like a gentle breeze, the sun was shining, it wasn't too humid, not a cloud in the sky.
Speaker A:And it just made that experience so much more positive.
Speaker A:How about for you now?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I, for me, I think it has a lot to do with geographically where I live.
Speaker B:I live in Minnesota where it's winter nine months out of the year almost.
Speaker B:I love it up here.
Speaker B:I love our winters, I love our summers.
Speaker B:But when we finally, we have the best summers and when you finally get that opportunity to sit outside and listen to good music, I think it just amplifies the experience, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, it really does.
Speaker A:And yeah, I thought about that.
Speaker A:But yeah, if you've been indoors a lot.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Due to the winter, man, when you get to see some stuff outdoors, it makes it even that much more special.
Speaker B:I want to bring talk about two outdoor venues that are my favorites that are in Colorado and we're going to go with the obvious Red Rocks.
Speaker B:I've only been there twice.
Speaker B: llie Nelson in like the early: Speaker B:You know, we drove out.
Speaker B:It was unbelievable.
Speaker B:The, the scenery, the.
Speaker B:I forgot about the elevation.
Speaker B:The second time I was there at the Brandy Carlisle show because I got in the line down, down low and waited in line for the merch.
Speaker B:Got to the front.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The poster was sold out.
Speaker B:They said there's another merch tent up.
Speaker B:Up top.
Speaker B:So I hauled, hauled.
Speaker B:But up that stairs and about halfway up I almost collapsed.
Speaker B:I mean I was starting to breathe hard and I didn't feel.
Speaker B:Didn't feel right.
Speaker B:But yeah, Red Rocks is.
Speaker B:Was a special place.
Speaker B:I love how they project like a scene onto the.
Speaker B:The rock.
Speaker B:You know, Brandy's had her picture and it says the tour name.
Speaker B:It's just a first come, first serve too, so.
Speaker A:Oh, I love that our.
Speaker A:We used to live in Denver and looking back, I wish I'd gone to Red Rocks more because it's such a special venue.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker A:Is this one of those places like another one that maybe we'll talk about in a minute that's truly revered and like hallowed ground for the musicians.
Speaker A:So regardless of the environment, they're showing up saying, okay, I need to be focused, I need to be dialed in.
Speaker A:This place is special.
Speaker A:It's different and it seems to bring out the best.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:If you go to the basement of there where you can go, there's only a few bathrooms.
Speaker B:You kind of got to go down into the canyon to go to the bathroom.
Speaker B:And there's a Red Rocks museum that you can just walk through and to see all the.
Speaker B:I mean everybody up there, everybody who's played there, it's.
Speaker A:It's incredible.
Speaker A:Thinking about your.
Speaker A:Your air deficiencies story about at the Brandy show.
Speaker A:We saw REM on their last tour.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:And Michael Stipe would go between songs and just suck down air on the side of the stage.
Speaker A:He was just like, just breathing it in.
Speaker A:He gave a great performance, man.
Speaker A:But afterwards he was every.
Speaker A:Every song he was sucking in oxygen.
Speaker B:Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker B:One other venue is that I want to talk about in Colorado is up in Northern Colorado, just outside Fort Collins, Colorado.
Speaker B:It's up in the por Canyon.
Speaker B:It's called the Mishawak Mishawaka Amphitheater.
Speaker B:We saw two shows.
Speaker B:Both were terrible.
Speaker B:Both were terrible shows by.
Speaker B:I'll just give one name.
Speaker B:It was way back when it was Ryan Adams and he was, he was.
Speaker B:He wasn't with it.
Speaker B:Let's just say.
Speaker B:But the scenery of this little amphitheater that's got a restaurant attached to it.
Speaker B:You come around the canyon and there it is.
Speaker B:There's no parking, and it's just along this stream and it's just a beautiful place.
Speaker B:I got to go up there.
Speaker B:And I didn't go to a show, but I was there two weeks ago just visiting.
Speaker B:They have to shuttle.
Speaker B:If you buy a ticket.
Speaker B:You get shuttled in from Fort Collins.
Speaker B:Like they shuttle you up to it because there's no.
Speaker B:No parking.
Speaker B:But it's one of the most beautiful venues you'll ever see, even if you see a bad show.
Speaker A:Oh, man, thanks for that.
Speaker A:I love finding out those new venues.
Speaker A:And it's interesting you mentioned.
Speaker A:I mentioned Ryan Adams.
Speaker A:This is not a Ryan Adams hate show.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Really a genius songwriter.
Speaker A:But I have it.
Speaker A:We've seen.
Speaker A:I've seen them three times and every time there seems to be some kind of problem.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So I don't know what it's.
Speaker A:I'm not passing judgment.
Speaker A:I'm just saying what I witnessed.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it was.
Speaker A:It was difficult.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Now one of the.
Speaker A:Thinking about how to ground and then maybe you can do one more and then we'll talk about ones that maybe we would like to go to.
Speaker A:We have to talk about the Ryman.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Because that's where, you know, Zach and I went up the story as if you've heard some of our other episodes.
Speaker A:That's where Zach and I really, along with our spouses, sort of kicking around the podcast idea.
Speaker A:And the name came from some conversations after we'd literally been to the Ryman.
Speaker A:And it's an old church and we saw American Aquarium there.
Speaker A:And it really kind of launched this whole project that we've had an absolute blast.
Speaker A:And to me, I want to hear your reflections on it, Zach.
Speaker A:The musicians kind of like Rudderocks.
Speaker A:Like, they show up like this is a big deal.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And there's perhaps something about it previously being a church.
Speaker A:Meaning that it's always a church, meaning there's something spiritual taking place and the people that have walked across that stage.
Speaker A:There are many places that could probably all do your red rocks.
Speaker A:But I believe the Ryman can absolutely.
Speaker A:And Manuel, if you haven't made your own personal pilgrimage.
Speaker A:Pilgrimage to that venue, there's a great opportunity because they have acts, I think, literally almost every night of the week.
Speaker A:Or every night of the week.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And even if you're.
Speaker B:If you want to see a comedy show, they have, you know, big time comedians play There.
Speaker B:And yeah, there's something about that place.
Speaker B:I mean, the first time I was there was with you.
Speaker B:That was our.
Speaker B:My first time seeing American Aquarium.
Speaker B:I've since gone back for the you got gold John Prines Festival and saw all those incredible artists singing John songs at the Ryman.
Speaker B:Crying, crying in the pews.
Speaker B:Well, I saw Todd Snider and Margo Price sing In Spite of Ourselves, which is my wife and I's wedding song, three weeks before Todd passed.
Speaker B:I mean it was.
Speaker B:I'll never forget that singular moment of.
Speaker B:Of last year's event.
Speaker A:Thanks for sharing that.
Speaker A:We don't know how long we or.
Speaker A:Or the beloved artist that we listen to have and it's up to us to show their appreciation while we can and then remember the great ones and.
Speaker A:And tell the story just like you did.
Speaker B:So I think we should list off a couple bucket list venues.
Speaker B:Do you have any?
Speaker A:Well, I gotta.
Speaker A:Got the feeling you're gonna give me more than I already.
Speaker B:I just have two that I can think of.
Speaker A:I'll say I've been wanting to go to the Caverns to.
Speaker A:It's outside of Nashville, but it's not an easy place to get to.
Speaker A:And I see people like a John Butler trio played there.
Speaker A:When he came through, he didn't play a ton of venues.
Speaker A:He played there.
Speaker A:I think the Avis have played there somewhat recently.
Speaker B:Yeah, they have like an outdoor venue as well in the summer.
Speaker B:But then also the Caverns is what you're, you know, that's the one I would like to go into, you know,.
Speaker A:But yeah, and for people, and this is what I understand is that they, You.
Speaker A:You go into a big cavern and it really acts as a very natural, beautiful sound amplification experience.
Speaker A:Yeah, maybe a little bit like what you get in Red Rocks, but a little bit different.
Speaker B:Speaking on the Cavern, we'll talk off air, but we might have a hookup there.
Speaker B:Now that from a.
Speaker B:All right, so I'll.
Speaker B:We'll talk off air of that.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:But Zach's.
Speaker A:Zach's going spelunking.
Speaker B:Yes, yes, I.
Speaker B:That's also on my bucket list, that place.
Speaker B:You know, seeing Murder by Death's videos of them playing in that cavern always made me jealous that I missed that one.
Speaker B:But yeah, I was going to say I've never been to the Gorge and I would love to.
Speaker B:To be there.
Speaker B:And you know, Brandy and the High Women just played there a couple weeks ago.
Speaker B:It, you know, we've looked into it and it's been on our bucket list.
Speaker B:It's just hasn't worked out yet.
Speaker B:The logistics seem like an absolute nightmare because it's so far out of anywhere.
Speaker B:But the.
Speaker B:The venue just looks amazing.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's on there, man.
Speaker A:For me.
Speaker A:Another one for me is a random one that most people probably don't know.
Speaker A:But it's near where I grew up.
Speaker A:I grew up in the small town Alabama and there's even a smaller town though where I grew up called Waverly which is near Auburn, Alabama.
Speaker A:And there's a venue there called Standard Deluxe.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:And it looks so cool.
Speaker A:I actually went by there and it's like a house and they do a lot of T shirt screen printing and they have a lot, a lot of cool posters.
Speaker A:The guy who runs it is like a designer and they have some of the neatest bands come through there.
Speaker A:And one of their big selling points to bands is that they get to stay on the property.
Speaker A:So if you're a band, you know you're going to have a good meal, you have a great place to stay.
Speaker A:And I think a lot of venues discount this.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:They you make it a pleasant experience.
Speaker A:They'll go a little bit out of their way to be a part of that.
Speaker A:So that's all on my list of things place to want to go.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:And that, that is an outdoor Vinnie.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I've just got one more bucket list that venue and we're going to be knocking it off our list some.
Speaker B:I think it's on October in John Prine's birthday again we're going to the Chicago theater which I've always heard amazing things about.
Speaker B:They moved his birthday party celebration to there this year for his 80th.
Speaker B:We're taking the.
Speaker B:The kids because finally my son is into John Prine.
Speaker B:My work is done.
Speaker A:But it's owned by John Prime.
Speaker B:It's owned by Madison Square Garden.
Speaker B:It's right in the heart of Chicago.
Speaker B:It's a beautiful old time theater.
Speaker B:And some of the people that are singing are Margot Price.
Speaker B:Hooray for the riff raffle.
Speaker B:I mean Tommy Prine.
Speaker B:I mean all of them will be singing John Prines.
Speaker B:I can't wait to get down there.
Speaker A:Oh man.
Speaker A:Speaking my language, my friend.
Speaker A:Yeah, that'll be a great show.
Speaker A:So I think like my, my message and I want to hear yours like two listeners is to number one.
Speaker A:Be aware of the music venues in your community.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like you may, you may have heard some new ones today.
Speaker A:They may be destinations, obviously Zach to my mom's heavier Charleston.
Speaker A:Zach's Heavier Minneapolis.
Speaker A:But Tune into your community.
Speaker A:It also puts some of these more bucket list type type things on your.
Speaker A:On your list.
Speaker A:So when you're traveling through, you remember to check the website, check them on Instagram and see who's coming through.
Speaker A:And there's one other thing I want to encourage you to do is to consider hosting a show.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So maybe the best venue in your community might be be your house.
Speaker A:And shout out to our friend of the show, Jim Nolte, who has taken this to the next level.
Speaker A:He has Nolty Palooza at his house in the summer where he has his favorite couple of his favorite musicians come by.
Speaker A:It doesn't hurt to think a little bit bigger because again, if you don't have, I mean, maybe you're the person that's going to introduce these musicians to your community and you can always champion like that Zach, close us out with him.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, the older I get, you know, and the older my kids get and how busy they are, the less shows I get to go to locally.
Speaker B:So my wife and I decided that we kind of make bucket list trips to travel to see our favorite artists, you know, Newport or we go to Nashville for John Prine or, you know, anywhere.
Speaker B:I mean, we did all those years at the beach, Brandy, you know.
Speaker B:So I feel like traveling to see your favorite band in different settings is really important and you can get a different experience if you then just seeing them kind of down the road.
Speaker B:You get to see a new city, get to maybe fall in love with a new place.
Speaker B:So I encourage go to your local shows, yes, but travel and see your favorite bands in a strange town.
Speaker A:That's us signing off today.
Speaker A:Stay curious, everybody.
Speaker C:Thanks for joining Zach and I for this episode of Americana Curious.
Speaker C:Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.
Speaker C:I've been fanning and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.
Speaker C:Until next time, Stay Americana Curious.
