BY DREW C. ROBINSON
Tribune Staff Writer
While Club Rewind transported concert-goers back to the 1980s, the crowd and enthusiasm on display Friday night suggested the future of Morristown’s First Friday Concert Series is as strong as ever.
Crown and Compass opened up the night’s music at 6 p.m. and Club Rewind took the stage at 7 p.m. for the packed green space. Club Rewind, a high energy 1980s homage band with local connections, looked out at a Downtown Green filled with what may have been the best attended event in that space’s history.

“It’s hard to put a number on it, but it was more than 500 people,” MACC Director of Downtown Development Natasha Morrison said. “Club Rewind, and Crown & Compass, they were fantastic. The market vendors seemed to have a successful night, and I think, the majority of food trucks sold out. I got a lot of positive feedback when I got to work Monday morning.”

The Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce presents the concert series through their Downtown Morristown program which is accredited through the Tennessee Main Street Program.
The Tennessee Main Street Program serves as a statewide resource for communities seeking to revitalize and manage their traditional downtowns.

Figuring out how to grow foot traffic and inform people about shopping, restaurants and other opportunities for recreation in the downtown area is important to local businesses and there’s evidence that successful events like the First Friday concerts are helping.
“I had countless people tell me Friday night that they had a great dinner, either at Little Dutch or Heavy Petal, that they stopped and had a beer at 1907 (Brewing Company) before coming down to the concert,” Morrison said. “So in one way or another, the concert is just a reminder (for people to think), ‘I need to get downtown. Individuals who are coming out for First Friday make stops along the way as they make their way to the concert. So these efforts have been successful in just drawing a crowd for businesses downtown.”

The music scene in Morristown is starting to show more life as more venues open up spaces for artists such as the Roosevelt Room at 1907, which is hosting a Brews and Grooves vinyl records and live music event Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and a new space at Soundtrax Downtown which will see local favorites Weathered Soul play this Friday at 9 p.m.

All of the musical success is part of larger and growing trend as downtown Morristown revitalizes a little more each week with upcoming restaurant/spa/hotel super block Cattleman’s Corner being developed and its first project, a barbecue restaurant which is scheduled for an August opening.
Morrison said the strong turnout has her already thinking about future lineups, including additional tribute and cover bands that might draw new audiences to downtown.
“It was very encouraging for the future of First Fridays,” she said.

As the echoes of synths and sounds of hairspray hits echoed across the Downtown Green, the biggest takeaway may not have been a feeling of nostalgia — it was the excitement of the sight of hundreds of people spending a summer evening downtown — a sign that the efforts to create a vibrant gathering place are continuing to gain momentum.