Willie Nelson’s handprints, a crinkled setlist from Sammy Kershaw and four decades of music history line the walls of Billy Bob’s Texas.
The storied venue showed off recent renovations Feb. 29 including fresh paint, new neon signs and updated bathrooms, but the most important change is something patrons won’t see.
Pillars that blocked sightlines to the stage no longer obscure views.
“These seats (here) weren’t good before because you were just looking at production’s backsides,” said Billy Bob’s General Manager Marty Travis. “Now you’ve got a great view of the stage.”
Replacing the poles with trusses and shifting the soundbooth from the front of the room to the back will also help improve acoustics, a one-two punch that knocks out the two primary complaints from patrons.
“Every week we get survey comments and we respond to 100% of them,” he said. “We listen to the guests, obstruction is a problem. Sound is a problem, and … we want to attack our biggest problems.”
Jacky Swan is an original VIP member at Billy Bob’s and appreciates the improvements.
He and his wife, Sheila, saw Neal McCoy together for their first date, were married on the stage and have permanent front row seats at the venue.
“This is huge. … There used to be four poles between where we’re standing now and the stage,” Swan explained. “And now it looks so much more open. … This is amazing. I mean, it’s really going to help the people that sit back here see a whole lot better.”
Giving up a few seats to improve the views for dozens of others was a worthy trade, Travis said.
“If you’ve been here for a show before, you’re fixing to be blown away.”
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.