Wyatt Ellis at COHAB Space, July 7, 2023 – photo © G Nicholas Hancock
COHAB is a new live music venue that has opened in High Point in central North Carolina. Bluegrass is part of their music offerings, along with blues and jazz. The outdoor venue is approximately 30,000 square feet, currently owned and operated by John Muldoon.
“By combining world-class talent with state-of-the-art production, we are going to make our mark as the ultimate destination for music enthusiasts and festival-goers in North Carolina,” stated Muldoon.
It is part of a large, formerly commercial building that has been converted into a variety of shops, restaurants, businesses, and arts and design firms.
Lisa McMullen, Director of Business Development & Project Management, described the new facility.
“It is being developed as a small festival-style venue. John’s primary goal with it is to support nonprofits, and help develop the music scene in High Point and the greater Carolina Core. High Point’s location is the midway point of what will become the Carolina Music Trail between Asheville and Wilmington.
This is our first season operating the venue as COHAB Space. We are installing all new bathrooms, a new green room, a recording studio, and a podcast studio to help support and promote those in the music industry. Building on our four pillars of music, food, art, and design, COHAB is slated to be an incubator and co-development space for folks in those industries.
Currently, our entire team is on site as support to build out the property, which consists of 75,000 square feet of indoor space as well. We have a construction team working on the activation of the buildings, and a support team for the venue itself: venue operations, hospitality, and private event support. Tylere White is the General Manager for the venue and owner of Partly Cloudy Productions, the in-house promoter for COHAB Space.
COHAB first opened April 20 and the first bluegrass show was June 24. We developed three weekends of unforgettable bluegrass music in a summer revival series starting with Larry Keel and a VIP dinner, meet, greet, and eat. All attending got to sit in with an intimate acoustic set with Larry, before Keel performed on the main stage, opened by the Big Fat Gap band.”
White stated, “That show motivated me to hit the gas on this even harder.”
On June 30, Keller Williams performed as Kellergrass with the Jon Stickley Trio. The VIP meet and greet acoustic set prior to the main show featured Mason Via of the Old Crow Medicine Show and former American Idol contestant.
The third show was July 7 with Sam Bush on the main stage with the Wyatt Ellis Band opening. The 14-year-old mandolinist also performed for the VIP ticket holders with an acoustic set prior to the main stage event.
Coming up on August 31 is the son of David Grisman with the Sam Grisman Project.
Sam shared, “The music that my father, David Grisman, and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early ’90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. My goal in starting the Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music.”
And there are more shows to come!
McMullen said, “We have some shows on the calendar for next year with larger names, starting in April for our outdoor venue with more regional bands for the remainder of this season when we move indoors for the winter. We will have two separate indoor venues depending on the size of the crowd and the acts.”
She stressed, “We want to get information out to our bluegrass fans about what COHAB is, and what we’re looking to develop it into and gain the support of people in this region. We invite folks to come any day of the week, tour the facility, and have a cup of coffee. We’re open all the time! John wants to make COHAB a destination for folks for the shows, but also for hanging out with the family on a Sunday afternoon. It’s definitely worth people coming out and looking at the space. I think over time that COHAB will really be a spot on the map for music lovers!”
For information, visit COHAB Space online for an agenda of upcoming events.
