Industry Icon: The Bluebird Cafe

 

Bluebird Cafe manager Erica Wollom Nichols gave us an inside look at the historic Nashville landmark.  The Bluebird Cafe showcased their Songwriters Showcase at the 2008 IEBA Conference.  For booking, please contact The Bluebird Cafe c/o Erica Wollom Nichols, 615-383-5308.  For more information, visit bluebirdcafe.com.
Can you give us a brief history of the Blue Bird Café?

The Blue Bird Café is 26 years old as of June (2008).  It was open by Amy Kurland and it started as a general event, then really she started to target having songwriters shows and more acoustic music because it suits the venue.  We have 100 seats and can fit maybe a little bit more; ten or fifteen of standing room only.

Who are some of the notable artists who have performed at the Blue Bird Café?

Dixie Chicks, Justin Towns Earl, Tyler Hilton, Dierks Bentley, LeAnn Rimes, Marty Stewart, Rascal Flatts, just to name a few.

What makes the Bluebird Café unique?

Part of it is that Nashville is a city that people like to do collaborated works and the Bluebird has really helped with that and has been and has also taken advantage of that.  I’ve seen shows at the Bluebird that John Prime played and Bonnie Raitt got out of the audience; that doesn’t happen anywhere, even in Nashville. People like to play here.  The audience is very, very close and sometimes you’re practically sitting in the performer’s lap.  It creates a kind of energy and participation that really exercises what we have here in Nashville.

What are some personal highlights that you have experienced?

There are a million.  I’m looking through the Bluebird scrapbook, which is a book that all the performers were invited to submit their stories.  One of my personal favorite moments was when T-Bone Burnett played an acoustic show here and it was before he did “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, I think it was in 1999.  I went to pick him up and before we [went to the Blue Bird] he wanted to sit up in his room and play some old Hank Williams songs to warm up.  One of everybody’s most memorable nights was the night Garth Brookes was discovered here.  He wasn’t supposed to perform that night, he was just stuck in at the last minute.  Some of the folks from Capitol Records just happened to be there, so it’s like a comedy of errors that put him into his deal and now look where he is.

How much do you put into marketing for the Bluebird Café?

We do very little paid advertising.  It is true that we take advantage of word of mouth.  I would say as far as marketing, we do some of marketing over the internet.  We have a website and a MySpace page.  It’s less about advertising and more about just trying to maintain the integrity of the venue and the experience for people.  I think that is our best marketing, is to keep the Bluebird the Bluebird.

How is the Bluebird Café adapting to the Green movement?

I would say that the Blue Bird was recycling in all kinds of aspects years ago.  The Bluebird has been recycling forever.  We have about twenty recycling bins out back and maybe even more then that; we line the fence with them!  Our cooking oil is recycled into bio-diesel.

Do you have any tips for other venues that are thinking becoming eco-friendly?

You really have to have a commitment to doing it.  Recycling is really a pain.  It’s just a matter of sitting down and thinking of how you can do it that most of your staff will be able to participate in, getting them on board.  Then you just do the best job you can.

Where do you see the live entertainment industry going in the next ten years?

Personally for the Bluebird, there will always be a market for people to get closer to the entertainment, which is what we offer.  As for the bigger live entertainment acts, I think prices are dictating what everyone does.  The business is really cautious about how artists can go on the road.  We have a lot of people who are based here in Nashville so we don’t have to be so concerned about whether we can get the semi-trucks here.  We have a little bit different kind of a focus.  I hope that people will always want to hear live music--people need to.  We do a webcast of most of our shows.  We’re thinking about that and how it’s presented because ultimately I think people do pay attention to that kind of internet access.  It can be mainly what they can get especially if they are interested in the Bluebird, but it will never take the place of somebody knocking their guitar into their chair.