Since Bluegrass Underground left, Cumberland Caverns Live updates the underground concert experience.
Stephen Moore is president of RCS Productions.
“Pretty much everything from the box office to signage to concessions and seating. The picnic tables that were there in the back and the lunch tables are gone,” Moore said. “Now there are more grown-up bar height, counter height type tables in the back of the room and stools. New sound and lights, new green room built out for the artists and a new merchandise area. ”
Cumberland Caverns Live also updated the concession menu and the check-in experience.
No longer tied to bluegrass, Cumberland Caverns Live opened the stage to more genres. In the coming months, The Head and The Heart and High Valley will perform.
Joel Grubb produces for RCS Productions.
“My goal is to do about eighteen to twenty-four down there this year, but finding the right opportunities is certainly part of it,” Grubb said. “So we are exploring a lot more of those and have some other shows that are confirmed that we will be announcing very soon.”
Moore said visitors stand in awe once they reach the volcano room.
“It has been voted one of the most ideally acoustic rooms in the country, because of all the different rock formations. Its just got a little bit of energy to the room, which is what you want,” Moore said. “You don’t want a dead room and you don’t want a very booming room either. Its just got a little bit of life to it which is really cool and the acoustics in it are incredible.”
Setting up a concert 333 feet underground brings its own obstacles, Moore said.
“Generally we will set up the day before and so it has to be cross-loaded onto a Jeep with a trailer and then pulled down into the volcano room,” Moore said. “So load in and load out takes a little bit longer but the more we have done these shows and our teams have done these shows the quicker it gets.”
Moore said, radios and cell service stops working underground, so the team relies on a communication app.
For more information on attending a show, go to the Cumberland Caverns website.