Exploring Life & Business with Chris Cobb of Bona Fide Live/In and Exit/In

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Cobb.

Hi Chris, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Music was on a lot and on loud in my house and in the car when I was a kid. I guess you could say love for music runs in the blood. I started playing in bands in middle school, did so actively into college, and still enjoy a good garage jam session regularly.

It was in college, at Belmont, that my love for music and love for throwing parties crossed and I started promoting concerts in small venues in Nashville and then in other cities in the southeast. I promoted club shows, worked any production gigs I could find, and worked as a valet to make ends meet for several years after graduating from Belmont. In 2004, the then owners of Exit/In offered me a job booking, marketing, and running the club. I spend at least five nights a week on The Rock Block for the next three years until the club sold in December of 2006.

At this time, I went back out on my own as an independent promoter and producer. After a North American tour with Talib Kwali, I came back to Nashville set on opening a mid-sized venue that could rival the venues I’d seen on tour. After several years, that vision became reality and I opened Marathon Music Works in 2011. This started an almost 10-year amazing journey of founding, opening, and operating music venues. My business partner happened to be the person who purchased Exit/In back in 2006. In 2012, we combined the two businesses, making me half owner of Exit/In.

In 2017, we opened The Truman in KCMO and in 2018, The Signal, in Chattanooga, TN. By 2019, I was tired and came to the realization that I no longer got to do the parts of the job I enjoyed most. Over the course of several months, my partner bought me out of the business, with the exception of Exit/In, which I became the whole owner of. Of course, no one expected what happened next… a pandemic! In March of 2020, like most independent music venues, Exit/Inclosed. It remained shuttered for 444 days! I was fortunate to have met Dayna Frank the year prior and received a text from her in mid-March. The next thing I knew, I was part of a small group of venue owners forming what would become NIVA.

We went from 0 members to over 3000 in just a few months. I focused on lobby efforts and am a member of the lobbying committee that took SVOG from an idea to a $16b grant program – the largest funding of the arts in the history of our country! It was an amazing, scary, and rewarding rollercoaster ride! Out of NIVA was born MVAN, which the owner of Mercy Lounge, Todd Olhauser, and I founded to advocate for Nashville’s independent music venues. Through all of this, Exit/In’s building was sold to a hotel developer.

Our lease ends in 2022 and we have no idea what the future holds past that. Currently, we’re hosting great shows and hoping attendance starts to recover from the delta. Onward!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha! Omg, should we leave covid out of it!? I’ve had an amazing 20-year run and learn more every day. There have been many challenges… corporatization and development continue to be huge threats to venues like exit/in.

Continuing to try to be a better leader is a constant work in progress. Finding balance in life is a daily exercise. Learning to get clear on what I really want to do and focusing my time and efforts on that is a constant as well

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Exit/In is a 500 capacity independent music venue whose neighborhood, The Rock Block, is named because of the club. This year is Exit/In’s 50th year! The club has spent the last five decades supporting Nashville’s creative working-class musicians, artists, performers, and professionals.

Bona Fide Live focuses on booking and marketing. Our clients include Live On The Green, which we have booked for all of its 12 years, and The Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga, which we’re very excited to have as a new client

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Our daughter passed away at nine months old. It’s been 10 years and was obviously life-changing. A lot of people don’t know about this. It’s not something I talk about often.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bonafide-live.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bonafideliveinc?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=107799694939181&ref=content_filter