LEXINGTON, KY — A relocated bar and billiards business is helping revitalize an abandoned warehouse district by turning its historic buildings into a cultural hub of live music. Jessica and Clark Case took over Buster’s when they learned that the property as well as the entire block of Lexington’s Main Street was slated for demolition. Their former college hangout, Buster’s, had become a Lexington institution. The couple just couldn’t let the place go, so they looked for a facility where they could recreate the bar and billiards hall.
They found what would become Buster’s Billiards & Backroom in an 1860s-vintage building that was part of the Ashland/Old Tarr Distillery. The 60-acre Lexington Distillery District was home to the first registered distillery in Lexington.
At 11,000 square feet, the facility allowed the Cases to combine the billiards with a music hall that now attracts nationally known mid-sized touring acts. Genres range from country outlaw music to new wave pop and veteran jam bands.
The couple held their grand opening for the venue recently, and hope that other businesses will follow to provide new uses for the historic buildings.
But turning an old empty warehouse into a high-caliber music venue is no small task. For starters, the couple knew nothing about lighting. An online search led them to Tennessee Lighting Company and its owner, Ken Patterson.
“It’s a very historic place, and they wanted to go all out with every aspect of it from lighting to sound,” Patterson said.
The Cases originally planned to use 60 standard PAR cans to light the stage, but after meeting with Patterson, who traveled 175 miles to show the difference LED lighting could make, they changed their minds. The low maintenance, long life and low power demand of LEDs convinced them to make the switch.
They were also “astounded with the output of the fixtures,” said Patterson, who ended up installing an all-LED rig consisting of 20 Chauvet Legend 6500 moving yokes and 12 COLORdash Par lights.
The COLORdash Par lights “add a lot of depth to the stage and create a good walk-in atmosphere even when the band is not playing,” said Patterson, a veteran designer with more than 30 years in the trade.
“We use the COLORdash down the wall and highlight and spot with the Legend 6500s,” said Grant Berryman, tech manager at Buster’s. “It’s nice that they don’t put off all that heat. I know the artists like it,” he added.
Patterson taught Buster’s staff how to program the lights, according to Berryman. As bands arrive to play, the crew asks for lighting preferences. “One band came out before the show and they picked out what they wanted for each song — it turned out to be 20 to 30 scenes,” Berryman said.
“The ease with which we can implement the bands’ lighting requests is an added benefit of the system,” even though the lighting is very technical, noted Jessica Case, co-owner. “I only know that when I see the lights in action, they are very impressive.”
For more information, please visit www.chauvetlighting.com.
