Secret Stages Festival Moves To Avondale For 2018

BIRMINGHAM, AL - After seven years in downtown Birmingham, the Secret Stages music discovery festival will move to the Avondale area for the 2018 version of the event. The festival is set for August 3-4, and ticmets are available now.

What has set Secret Stages apart from Birmingham's other music festivals over the years has been festival co-founder Travis Morgan's notion that the event serves the purpose of allowing music fans the chance to discover new musicians they have not already seen or heard. Rather than booking big-name headliners, Morgan carefully selects a balanced mix of acts varying in genre and geography. All, however, are up-and-coming musicians looking to get discovered by new fans.

The decision to move the festival from downtown was due mostly to access to the area's businesses and which businesses wanted to participate. The downtown Loft District has been a growing nightlife destination over the years, and Secret Stages has been a large part of that revitalization. Venues such as Rogue Tavern, Das Hous, Pale Eddie's, Matthew's and Urban Standard had been involved in the festival in the past.

One of the other founders of the festival, Jon Poor, said after much discussion, the executive team with the festival made the decision to move to Avondale, which has been a growing entertainment district in its own right. "Over the years, the Secret Stages crew has had many discussions about the best location for the festival," Poor said. "We have always loved being downtown. Seeing and being a part of the growth there has been one of the more rewarding aspects of the event. That said, the changing business landscape has often presented us with challenges as far as having a consistent and viable footprint each year."

Poor said in 2017 there were at least three venues that had traditionally been Secret Stages venues to which the festival no longer had access. "In 2018, we saw the same trend developing," Poor said. "While the new building and business owners in the downtown area may end up being the exact types of partners we’re looking for, we just had no guarantee. We need to have our venues and footprint worked out earlier rather than later so we just couldn’t wait to see what developed."

Avondale comes with a lot of exciting upside, Poor said. "It is already a popular entertainment district with top notch venues. More importantly, it provides the stability we need to plan our event far in advance."

Although the lineup and the schedule have not been finalized yet, Poor said he knows for sure that Avondale Brewery - both indoors and outdoors - will serve as a venue, along with Saturn, 41st Street Pub and The Hangar. "We will be announcing a sixth stage soon," Poor said. "With the park amphitheater, Parkside, Firehouse, Make B’ham and a dozen other little nooks and crannies, we feel the growth potential in Avondale is very exciting."

When asked if the change of venue would change the overall feel of the festival, Poor said he thinks the Secret Stages brand as a whole will remain the same. "There is so much to the Secret Stages brand and aesthetic that I think will be the exact same," Poor said. "I am looking forward to working with venues that are music destinations year round and have their own promotional machines at work. Also, I think Avondale Brewery and Saturn are going to be exciting venues for our bands to play."

Image from Secret Stages