We think our local publication The Free Times recently did a great job of telling out origin story. This is what the had to say.
The White Mule, an intimate listening room and rock club that ended its initial run on the 1500 block of Main Street nearly seven years ago, will reopen next Thursday on Saluda Avenue, in the space formerly occupied by Speakeasy.
The White Mule, an intimate listening room and rock club that ended its initial run on the 1500 block of Main Street nearly seven years ago, will reopen next Thursday on Saluda Avenue, in the space formerly occupied by Speakeasy.
Trae Judy — who sold his stake in Music Farm Productions earlier this year, shortly before the company’s Columbia club rebranded as The Senate at Tin Roof — and Dave Britt — a co-owner of The White Mule in its previous iteration who currently works as executive director of the Rosewood Merchants Association and helps organize events such as the Rosewood Crawfish Festival and River Rocks Music Festival — are behind the revival.
It's a relatively soft opening for now, as several aspects of the club are still falling into place. The kitchen, for instance, won't be ready, so food will come from a still-to-be-announced food truck.
“The market, I really think it missed it,” Britt contends. “When it left, it created a vacuum for people of a certain age demographic.”
The White Mule, Britt reminds Free Times, was modeled after rooms like Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta and The Evening Muse in Charlotte, venues that offer the opportunity to catch Americana- and folk-leaning acts in seated, subdued settings, but the Columbia venue also opened itself up to louder, rowdier shows from the likes of the then-still-scrapping Jason Isbell and Unknown Hinson. With a capacity of 150, Britt says the new White Mule will strike a similar balance, and the room’s initial calendar (listed below) bears this out, with intimate appearances from Hootie & the Blowfish alum Mark Bryan paired with such happenings as a Jam Room Music Festival afterparty featuring the veering indie rock bombast of ET Anderson.
“What we found was the acoustic shows were awesome and it was a great vibe, but they didn’t drive the bar,” Britt says of his previous experience with The White Mule. “When you put drums into a situation, and the volume escalates, then bar sales respond accordingly.”
But feeding the bottom line isn’t the only reason he wants to bring some ruckus.
“It’s also about intimate size,” Britt explains. “Even though it’s a rock show, when you’re looking at Jason Isbell a foot off the ground, in your face, that’s a different show.”
But The White Mule isn’t the only part of the new venture. The venue will be attached to the Rock Block, a new music industry incubator that will reside next door in the space formerly occupied by Bohemian clothing store.
Tying in Judy’s production work with Rock Block Consulting — such as handling next week’s Columbia Welcomes America’s Mayors block party on Main Street — the incubator will seek to provide an opportunity for local interns looking to learn the music business — marketing, promotion, merchandise, etc. — while serving as a resource for local bands or music-related startups who need infrastructure, funding and guidance to realize their visions. No time table has been set for when the Rock Block incubator will be up and running.
“If we get a bunch of like-minded people that are working on different types of projects under one roof, then rising tides lift all ships,” Judy reasons. “We want to bring in bands that are learning and working — from established bands to bands that are literally trying to get started — and work with them. The idea of the incubator is to be a 360 space, so anything to do with music and entertainment we want to try and encapsulate in some way.”
Looking for a place to install the incubator after the location he’d been looking at on Main Street fell through, Judy called Richard Burts, who owns the two properties the Rock Block and White Mule are moving into. In order to provide space for the incubator, Burts wanted Judy to do something with the old Speakeasy spot as well. Thus came the idea to bring back The White Mule.
As for bringing the venue to the University of South Carolina-adjacent Five Points as opposed to Main Street, Britt and Judy are optimistic about attracting both the college crowd and an older demographic. To that end, they’ll likely often pair quieter early shows with student-targeted bands later in the evening.
“I don’t subscribe to ‘You can’t be everything to everybody.’ I never have,” Judy says. “I think that just means you didn’t try hard enough, or you didn’t ask the right questions, you didn’t find out what they really wanted.”
“We’re not just going to be a listening room,” he adds. “And we’re not just going to be a Five Points party bar. We want to be that blend where music permeates everything we do. You’re going to see quality bands, you’re going to see quality production.”
