As someone who spends most of her time accompanied by some sort of music, I also spent a good amount of time at the now-closed Druid City Music Hall.
It was one of the experiences I loved most during my freshman year, when I had just acquainted myself with the Strip. During the music hall’s popular concert series, I saw acts like Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, Erin Viancourt and Charles Wesley Godwin. These concerts were intimate and affordable, set in a venue which consisted of a stage, a pit, some seating, a bar and a balcony. I collected drum sticks, guitar picks and setlists, as well as one memorable time spent getting the guitarist of a band to say “Roll Tide” into his mic.
I left for the summer thrilled to see what artists would be booked when I came back. Little did I know, there would be no Druid City to look forward to.
Two Dimes, a club operated by the owners of Rounders and social media influencer Tyler Hearing, quickly took its place… to mixed reviews. Frequent complaints about exorbitant cover charges and drink prices have become commonplace, mixed among reports of alleged harsh behavior from staff.
Grant McCabe, the co-owner of Two Dimes, said upon its arrival that it was intended to fill “a gap the city’s had for years — a place where mid-size touring acts can finally play and people can throw unforgettable private events.”
But wasn’t that gap already filled with Druid City’s humble presence amongst The Strip?
The magic behind Druid City Music Hall was how it refused to be anything more than it needed to be. There was no place for the expensive branding and Nashville club chic image that Two Dimes seeks to project. It was a place for the mixing of different genres: indie, rock, metal, country, EDM, all included in a concert hall that welcomed both touring and hometown acts. It drew students, including myself, to it because it was not just a bar that also had a stage — it was a stage that also had a bar.
Now, the atmosphere of a once humble music venue has been turned into the intimidating front of a club, and we’ve lost a pivotal place for the arts among our campus community. While bars like Druid City Brewing Company, The Red Shed and Rhythm & Brews offer concerts, they are not nearly at the same size or level of technical capability that Druid City Music Hall once offered. They also are bars first and foremost, which offer a much different atmosphere than a venue does.
In a community like Tuscaloosa, we deserve a place for everyone to take part in the magic of live music. The closure of Druid City Music Hall shows us exactly what happens when we try to appeal to the party scene instead of the overall community.
What we need is a place for music lovers created and run by music lovers, not by club owners.
