Outshyne, February 6Until very recently, Quad Citians wanting a rodeo experience had no choice but to wait for the i wireless Center’s annual World’s Toughest Rodeo tour. But for the last month, the District of Rock Island has been housing it’s very own, full-time Rodeo – and it’s got the bull to prove it.

“Right now, we rent one for Saturdays,” says booking manager Red Redahan of the mechanical bull at Red Rodeo – the new, Nashville-style nightclub he operates with wife and venue owner Cherie. “But we’re actually going to have our own mechanical bull soon, and he’ll be there every night. And people love it. You land on an air mattress and nobody’s been injured. People just sign their waivers and have a great time.” Red laughs. “And then we throw ’em off.”

 

Some were no doubt also thrown off by the very existence of Red Rodeo (located at 1720 Second Avenue in Rock Island). While touring acts arrive via summer’s Mississippi Valley Fair, and high-profile musicians make occasional i wireless Center and Adler Theatre appearances, the Quad Cities have long been without a venue designed specifically for fans of live country music. After moving from Atlanta to Davenport roughly two years ago, Red and Cherie were determined to fill that entertainment void.

“My wife and I are huge fans of Nashville,” says Red. “We try to go as often as we can, and one of our favorite things to do there is just walk the streets and stop into different places and listen to live music everywhere. And when we moved up here, we couldn’t find anything to do if you just wanted that Nashville feel – just laid-back, relaxed, beer-drinking country music.”

As he and his wife have experience working in the hospitality and restaurant/bar industries, Red says they “began kicking around the idea of duplicating a Nashville-type honky-tonk, looking around for buildings that would be fitting for our concept. And it actually took about a year before somebody mentioned that the building in the District was available. So we went down there, we looked at it, and we thought, with some work, the place could be perfect.”

Fletcher Rockwell, February 5With Red Rodeo’s renovated space boasting a 1,400-square-foot dance floor, a 24-by-20-foot stage, occupancy for 499, and a rustic interior featuring wood blanks from a demolished barn, Red says he and Cherie are thrilled with both the venue – which had its grand opening on New Year’s Eve – and those who’ve frequented it.

“It’s really more than what we imagined,” he says. “Just the whole vibe of the place. And it’s really the people that have made it so great. Country-music fans in the Quad Cities have shown up, and they’ve brought that same mentality that’s in Nashville. Like, ‘We just want to go out, enjoy a few drinks, dance a little bit, and listen to great music.’”

Some of those country tunes have come courtesy of local artists such as the Dirt Road Rockers, who perform January 29 and 30, and the Iowa-based Adam Keith Band, which played Red Rodeo on January 9 and returns on February 13. “Adam keeps the dance floor full the whole night,” says Red. “They put on a great, high-energy show. And we want to support anybody we can who’s from this area that’s trying to really do something with their music. We want to help get them exposure and a following.”

But the Redahans have also been working with booking agents in Nashville, Chicago, and Iowa City to land touring musicians that otherwise wouldn’t have visited the Quad Cities. “We were watching the routing for these artists as they went through the area,” says Red, “and saw that most of the time they’d route from Chicago to Des Moines and wouldn’t stop here. So we wanted to create something that would get up-and-coming bands to not just drive through.”

One of those bands is Fletcher Rockwell, performing a Red Rodeo concert on February 5. “They play all the big country bars in Chicago like Joe’s on Weed St. and the Fireball Saloon,” says Red. “They play a lot of country, but also throw in country versions of songs by bands like the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons. We’re really excited to have them.”

Tyler Hammond, February 12The following Friday, Red Rodeo hosts a February 12 evening with the Tyler Hammond Band. “He’s a south-Georgia guy who’s another one of the Nashville up-and-comers, and he’s been selling out PBR bars in Kansas City and St. Louis. He’s a heartthrob, as well – definitely one of the ladies’ favorites.

“And man, I hope people do research on Outshyne,” the Nashville-based artists performing on February 6. “They are awesome. They wrote a song with Florida Georgia Line, and had the number-one song ['Moonlight Crush'] on XM’s country station The Highway.”

Referencing Red Rodeo’s cover charges for Friday’s and Saturday’s live-music nights, Red adds, “And getting to see them – all these guys – for only five dollars is a steal. A few years from now, you’ll be seeing these bands in big festivals, and you’ll be able to look back and say you saw them live for five bucks.”

One forthcoming event, however, will have a higher ticket price. But given that March 12’s Red Rodeo concert boasts Nashville duo Love & Theft – CMT Music Award nominees whose single “Angel Eyes” topped Billboard’s country chart – $15 for advance tickets also seems like a steal. “Love & Theft is the type of name you’d expect to see at a fair,” says Red. “Usually they’re playing for tens of thousands of people. But this’ll be a real up-close-and-personal experience.

“It’s amazing,” he continues, “but we get probably 10 to 15 e-mails a day from bands that want to play here. We’re completely booked solid all the way through July.” And if patrons don’t want to come for the music, there’s always the bull.

“Yeah, I’ve ridden the bull,” says Red. “It’s great fun. If you get on too many times, though, you feel it the next morning, for sure ... .”

 

For more information on Red Rodeo (1720 Second Avenue, Rock Island) and its performance schedule, visit TheRedRodeo.com.

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