Next year, there will be significantly more concerts coming to Huntsville.

The ways music fans can enjoy their night before and after concerts here will change too.

The Von Braun Center’s new venue, named Mars Music Hall, is set to debut Jan. 3 with a performance by Grammy winning Americana artist Jason Isbell. The 25 or so initial bookings also include folk-rock legend Graham Nash (March 25), bluegrass hotshot Billy Strings (Jan. 23), virtuoso bassist Victor Wooten (April 14), metal guitarist John 5 (Feb. 25), rising country singer Chris Janson (Feb. 28) and comedian Tig Nataro (Feb. 1). Tickets for most of the 25 or so shows scheduled thus far go on-sale 10 a.m. Nov. 1. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or at the VBC Box Office. For additional lineup and ticket info, visit vonbrauncenter.com online.

The VBC plans to book around 70 to 80 concerts in the music hall, which will have general admission capacity of 1,575, balcony, excellent views throughout and a sound and lighting system costing around $1 million. There will also be large video screens on each side of the stage for closeups. “We’re probably more excited about that venue than anything we’ve done in a long time,” says VBC executive director Steve Maples.

Last year, the VBC hosted 75 concerts total, including shows in the Propst Arena and Mark C. Smith Music Hall. Mars Music Hall will allow the VBC to essentially double that figure.

An artist's rendering of Von Braun Center's new venue, Mars Music Hall, and restaurant/rooftop bar, Rhythm on Monroe. (Courtesy VBC)

In addition to Mars Music Hall, whose space-age looking exterior has been taking shape on the Clinton Avenue side of the VBC’s 700 Monroe St. address, the VBC is opening a restaurant and rooftop bar called Rhythm on Monroe.

The VBC broke ground on the music hall and restaurant, a $12 million project, on Aug. 15, 2018. Huntsville City Council approved a comprehensive proposal for a new downtown master plan, which included the VBC expansion, in June 2017. Funding is generated by VBC business and a lodging tax. "We generate 90 percent of our operating budget," Maples says. "The lodging tax, people come spend the night in our hotels here and pay an extra dollar or two, generates the other 10 percent. Any additional money goes into capital, to help us put on roofs and other things we need."

The music hall and restaurant naming process began with brainstorming sessions among VBC staff ranging in ages from about 20 to 60. “We probably came up with over a hundred names,” Maples says. “People would email, suggest, this and that. And then we narrowed it down.” At some point along the way the VBC decided to hire local graphic designer Crisy Meschieri to help chose the name between three finalists and work on branding. The Mars Music Hall’s logo features an astronaut helmet with headphones. Rhythm on Monroe’s logo fuses a fork and treble clef.

Mars Music Hall's name is a reference to Huntsville rich aerospace past, present and tomorrow. "Huntsville is all about all about the future, and Mars is where we're going, it's the future," Maples says. "The music hall, we built it for the future, it's for the younger demographic that we have. I think it's going to be awesome."

On a recent morning, Maples hosted AL.com on a tour of the new VBC facilities. Hardhat wearing construction workers were busy readying the project. Mars Music Hall is longer side to side than front to back and the result is a space that is intimate but also, as Maples says, “big enough.” “You can put bands in there, (that draw crowds of) 400, 500, 600 that you couldn’t put in the other venues,” Maples says. “In there, they’ll still look good, they’ll still play and the expenses will be down so you don’t have to go out and rent stuff, sound systems. It’s a whole new market for us. I call it the club circuit.” In Propst Arena’s current formation, the arena’s capacity is around 7,000. Mark C. Smith seats 1,955 continental style, with no open floor areas. Mars Music Hall’s floor level can hold 1,400 standing. The balcony, another 175 in a combination of bar-height seating and standing.

"The opener, Jason Isbell, that's an underplay," Maples says. ”We wanted to come out of the gate and get some attention and sell out within a short period of time. Jason just played like seven shows in Nashville at the Ryman (Auditorium) and sold all seven of them out."

Coincidentally, Isbell was the last act to ever perform at Crossroads Music Hall, the downtown venue on Clinton Avenue that shuttered in 2013, leaving a void for large-club sized venue, a critical size because many touring artists fit it, that remains unfilled. At least until Isbell and his band The 400 Unit crank up opening night. SideTracks Music Hall opening in 2017 at 415 Church St. helped bring more club-level tours to Huntsville. But with a capacity around 375, a wide swath of acts haven’t had a dedicated place to play in Huntsville in about six years. Recently, an effort to put a new venue called The Mercantile into the former Crossroads location ended prematurely after the lease was terminated. Now, with Mars Music Hall downtown and likely an amphitheater at the MidCity development, things are looking up for music fans residing in the Huntsville area.

An artist's rendering of Von Braun Center's new venue, Mars Music Hall, and restaurant/rooftop bar, Rhythm on Monroe. (Courtesy VBC)

Across the hall from Mars Music Hall, the restaurant will hold around 200 and the rooftop bar another 120 or so. The spacious dining room boasts very high ceilings, open kitchen, bar, copious windows and outdoor seating too. Up on the roof, there will be a bar, dumb waiter device to bring up food orders from downstairs, fire pits and views of downtown. Monte Sano Mountain is visible in the distance. The VBC hired a general manager, Stephen Ryberg formerly with Ruth’s Chris Steak House, who’s interviewing executive chef candidates. The restaurant will eventually employ around 60 staff, a mix of full- and part-time. Customers will be able to make reservations in advance, likely key to getting a table on VBC event nights. Nearby, the VBC Playhouse is accessible via hallway.

"The opening date for the restaurant is not going to be the same as the music hall," Maples says. "It's going to be a little farther behind, just to have time to get everything right. It will open sometime in January or February. We've talked about this a lot, even though the menu hasn't been designed yet, we're going to have people coming here to a hockey game (in the arena), then you're going to have the Broadway Theatre League folks coming (to the concert hall). The menu's going to be diverse. It's much more than a sports bar.”

VBC public relations manager Samantha Nielsen says Rhythm on Monroe’s tagline is “locally sourced, freshly prepared.”

Once the restaurant is ready, it will keep regular dinner hours from around 3 or 4 p.m. until 9 or 10. On Fridays and Saturdays, the plan is to stay open later, until 1 a.m. or so. No lunch hours, at least at first. Maples thinks the restaurant will be open six days a week, likely Tuesday through Sunday. If there's a big VBC event scheduled for the regularly scheduled off day, the restaurant would open then too. The rooftop bar would stock some of Huntsville's local craft beers and its own streamlined food menu.

Matheny Goldman is the local architect on the project. Bailey-Harris Construction is general contractor. "They've done an outstanding job," Maples says.

VBC assistant director Mike Vojticek is booking Mars Music Hall, with Live Nation as the preferred promoter partner. Live Nation struck a deal about five months ago with the VBC to be the preferred promoter for all venues there. Preferred, in this case, basically means Live Nation has first shot at putting dates on hold. “They are preferred but we work with like 15, 20 other promoters,” Maples says. “The reason we chose Live Nation is they’re the biggest promoter in the world and we need more shows. We had our heyday in the ’70s and ’80s because, supply and demand - there were so many bands and there just wasn’t as many venues. Now, there’s so many more options for bands. It makes it more challenging, so we need a relationship with Live Nation. That’s huge.”

Maples has worked for the VBC since 1976, starting out part-time after graduating from Lee High School. His tenure overlaps with VBC performances by legends like Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, Metallica and B.B. King. The first show Maples ever saw there as a fan was by pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, back in high school.

“My son’s a big music fan and he and his wife will take off and go out of town for the weekend (to see shows),” Maples says. “And he’s starting to see some of these bands (in the Mars Music Hall lineup) and says, ‘This is just awesome because now we don’t have to travel so much to go see some of these bands.’ Because they just weren’t playing here.”