Birmingham’s Iron City: All about the music (and a lot more)
Lyte partner Iron City is one of those venues that can host a corporate conference, a high-end wedding and a metal concert — all in the same weekend.
“One of the most unique aspects about Iron City is its versatility, not only in the acts that grace the stage but in the type of events we host on a day-to-day basis,” says Katie Hinson, marketing manager for the Birmingham, Alabama venue. “We have the amazing ability to shift…at the drop of a hat.”
Since opening its doors five years ago, Iron City has been an important and integral force in bringing more live events to Birmingham. Iron City last year hosted 91concerts, 57corporate or fundraising events, 33 internal events and 22 weddings.
Music, though, is at the heart of what Iron City does.
The 1,300-capacity venue is completely owned and operated by a team of passionate music lovers. It is a must on tour stops for artists like Trey Anastasio, Blake Shelton, Rob Zombie, Demi Lovato, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Twenty One Pilots, Chris Stapleton, Umphrey’s McGee, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, The War on Drugs, Marilyn Manson and more.
So far this year, Iron City has won the 2018 Nightclub & Bar’s “Live Music Venue of the Year” for the U.S. It also was nominated by the Academy of Country Music Awards for “Venue of the Year — Small Capacity” and holds the “Pollstar” Club Venue ranking of the 35th live music venue in the world.
The Birmingham community has named Iron City “Best Live Music Venue” every year since it opened.
“The Birmingham music scene is loyal, strong and growing,” Hinson says. “Stimulating economic and cultural growth for the community, as well as aiding in the revitalization of downtown, has been the cornerstone of Iron City’s purpose since its inception. Music festivals like the Sloss Music & Arts Festival and Secret Stages, venues like Saturn and Syndicate Lounge, and local infrastructure like Birmingham Mountain Radio and Seasick Records have also played a part in the revitalization of downtown Birmingham and its vibrant music scene.”
Iron City has hosted its share of shows that the community — and Iron City staff themselves — are unlikely to forget. Alabama native Anderson East sold out the club a few months ago. Kesha opened her tour there after a four-year hiatus. St. Paul and the Broken Bones played at Iron City’s Artists Care Program Concert for Children’s, raising more than $60,000 for the Child Life program at Children’s of Alabama.
In January 2016, megastar Shelton performed a surprise concert at Iron City that sent fans flocking to the venue minutes after it was announced. Shelton’s management called the venue two days before, saying that Shelton was looking for a place to rehearse for his upcoming world tour. Hinson fondly remembers the story.
“We started to create a plan and staffing for a show without telling anyone who was performing,” she says. “The morning of the show, Blake Shelton tweeted out that he was coming to play a free show at our venue, and the first 1,300 people to get a wristband would be allowed in the show. Within 30 minutes we had a line around the block and every local news camera outside of the venue. Within two hours, all 1,300 wristbands were gone.”
Adds Hinson: “It was truly an unforgettable day.”
Teaming up with Lyte has only added to the venue’s ongoing growth and success, Hinson says. The partnership has saved Iron City fans more than $20,000 on guaranteed scannable tickets to sold out shows. That’s a huge benefit to both fans and the venue.
“We love being able to offer fans a safe and easy solution to buy or sell real tickets to a show even after it sells out,” Hinson says. “In the past, we had to turn away disappointed fans who had purchased overpriced fake tickets from third party sites, but we have seen a decrease in this since we started using Lyte.”
Iron City’s no-show rate for shows listed on Lyte is only 6.8 percent, compared to roughly 11.9 percent for shows that are not listed on Lyte. More fans in the door translates to increased revenue on food, beverage and merchandise.
“Lyte’s customer service, reporting and platform is top-notch,” Hinson says. “We love receiving Facebook messages and emails from fans who use Lyte for the first time. They are always blown away by how easy it is to sell tickets and stoked when they are able to score tickets to an upcoming show. We love our partnership with Lyte — and our fans do too.”
Iron City has a lot of exciting things happening through the end of the year and beyond. Hinson says the venue has more concerts and weddings booked than ever before. Iron City is working on expanding and renovating the venue, although plans are still being finalized.
“The staff is having fun,” Hinson says, “imagining the possibilities.”
Visit ironcitybham.com for more information and a list of upcoming live events. Check out Lyte.com for more on our official fan-to-fan ticket exchange with Iron City.
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