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Back Forty Beer Company was planning to build a 3,000-ish capacity amphitheater behind their Huntsville location. Something comparable to Avondale Brewing Company’s in Birmingham. In the last couple years, Avondale’s brought in acts like alt-rockers the Pixies, jam-band stars Goose, punk-folk icons Violent Femmes, the rapper Shaboozey, and female-fronted indie outfit Rilo Kiley. Avondale was looking at a budget of around $5 million for their amphitheater. But then came an Aug. 1 press release from The Venue Group. The City of Huntsville contracts The Venue Group, stylized as tvg, to operate Orion Amphitheater, which the city owns. In that press release, sent out by the city’s media relations, tvg announced they “are identifying locations for a new mid-sized venue” in Huntsville. That planned project would be in the 2,500 to 3,000 capacity range, according to the release. The tvg project would be an indoor venue. Now, via email Back Forty owner/CEO Doug Brown tells AL.com, “We pivoted, pulling back on our original plan after TVG made their announcement. Our plan is to finish the infrastructure and hold off on stage, concession and seating construction until we see what happens [with tvg’s plans]. “So, for the beginning, we will have an additional gravel parking area and a large grass field for concerts and large corporate and private events.” Construction is underway on the site. It’s northwest adjacent to Back Forty Huntsville, address 3254 Leeman Ferry Drive Road, near John Hunt Park. Brown expects site work to be done in a couple of months. Landscaping, including sod and trees, will follow in spring. “We are looking to do a launch in May,” Brown says via email, “using a portable stage for live music and tents for food and beverage concessions.” Since opening winter 2023, Back Forty Huntsville’s occasionally hosted live music from local bands like King’s Haze, Thinger and Soul Karnival. This year, the brewery was the site of afterparties for electronic musician Tipper’s Labor Day weekend shows at Orion. In addition Huntsville and Gadsden Back Forty has a Birmingham location. Working with Huntsville concert promoter Big Spring Entertainment, Back Forty’s brought a few shows to their Birmingham brewery, including rising jam-bands Eggy, from New Haven, Connecticut, and Dogs In A Pile, from Asbury Park, New Jersey. Beer-wise, Back Forty is known for Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale, Naked Pig Pale Ale and Freckle Belly IPA (India Pale Ale). RELATED: Looking for tasty meals at Huntsville breweries? We love these 5 Their Huntsville brewery is cavernous. There’s also a sprawling lawn in front. Combined with the site being developed out back, it’s a layout with some interesting live music potential. Whether or not Back Forty eventually builds an amphitheater there. “It definitely gives the flexibility to have a big event,” Brown says via phone. “We’ve done a lot of surveying of available parking, and we’ve got about 4,500 parking spaces within a 10 minute walk.” RELATED: How Huntsville music venues make concerts more awesome for fans with disabilities A viable 3,000 capacity venue, whoever does it, would fill a hole in Huntsville’s venue mix. The capacity at Orion, which tvg oversaw design and construction of before operating, is 8,000. Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena is 6,500 to 8,500, depending on layout. The VBC’s Mark C. Smith Music Hall is around 2,000 and Mars Music Hall’s capacity is about 1,600. The Venue Group’s planned mid-sized venue would be their third Huntsville project. This spring, tvg opened phase one of its long gestating reboot of eclectic downtown venue The Lumberyard. Since reopening, Lumberyard has hosted intermittent live music, including this year’s Microwave Dave Day, a local music concert honoring bluesman Dave Gallaher, and a songwriters series, hosted by Shoals musician/Huntsville native Rob Aldridge.
