Asheville music venue announces improvements, new additions for 2024 concert season
ASHEVILLE - Rabbit Rabbit, an outdoor event venue, is broadening its beverage offerings and optimizing its operations for the concert and event season.
The Rabbit Rabbit team has crafted a more efficient design to alleviate lines at its beverage stations with more options for craft beer imbibers and zero-proof crowds coming to the venue whether for a mainstage concert or festival.
“We’re open to suggestions as to what kind of things people want while they’re out to make their night more fun,” said Rabbit Rabbit co-owner Mike Rangel.
Rabbit Rabbit concert and events
This year, Rabbit Rabbit’s music lineup features country crooners, punk rockers with an affinity for reggae and singer/songwriters with a rockabilly flair.
Big hitters coming to the stage include Portugal. The Man, Cake, Orville Peck, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Lake Street Dive and Vampire Weekend.
Rangel said the venue has helped bring a coolness factor to downtown Asheville since it opened at 75 Coxe Ave. in 2020.
“The reuse of the space and the rethinking of an old bank property turned into a place that can hold 4,000 of your friends in a downtown setting where you can see the downtown skyline and enjoy a cool show,” Rangel said.
“To have its own mini amphitheater and now be the place where Jack White’s played, and Willie Nelson played and Pixies. For being as young of a venue as we are we’ve had some pretty incredible talent already walk through our doors and will continue on," he said.
Rangel also founded Asheville Brewing and Pizza, which has a location next door to Rabbit Rabbit.
Rabbit Rabbit’s concert series is presented by Orange Peel Events and Asheville Brewing.
“It’s a lot of fun. It was a labor of love between two small family-owned, hyper-local businesses with no seed money or big sponsorships,” Rangel said. “Just two businesses that have been doing things in Asheville for a long time uniting forces in a cool experiment that turned out great.”
Rangel acknowledged other venues elevating Asheville’s music scene along with Rabbit Rabbit and The Orange Peel.
“Asheville definitely punches above its weight when it comes to live music, whether it’s Harrah’s or Salvage Station or Asheville Music Hall, and props to the new Burial (Beer Co.) space, Eulogy. Super cool,” he said.
Rabbit Rabbit’s event calendar also includes community events, like silent discos and movie nights, and festivals that are planned and to be announced for this year.
Rangel said that Rabbit Rabbit will host viewings of the Olympics, major bike races, including the Gran Fondo National Series, and kids’ events featuring face painters and a new inflatable.
“Two days later we’ll have a mayoral debate and then the next night we’ll have Primus,” Rangel said.
Zero-proof drinks
Rabbit Rabbit now has a standalone, nonalcoholic drink tent to improve accessibility.
Rangel said guests voiced that they preferred not to stand in line with those ordering alcoholic beverages.
Rangel said there has been an increase in customers who seek nonalcoholic beverage alternatives for sobriety, health and lifestyle changes. More and new zero-proof products in stock will provide more choices for guests cutting back on or cutting out alcohol.
“We love to see a designated driver in the group so the more options, the more flavorful things for them to try, the better their experience and the less FOMO (fear of missing out),” Rangel said.
The nonalcoholic menu is expanding to include beverages like Gatorade, La Croix, Guayakí Yerba Mate and Red Bull, nonalcoholic beers from Athletic Brewing, and handcrafted sodas and other drinks from local company Devil’s Foot Beverages. Also, the new line of electrolyte drinks from Oskar Blues Brewery and new nonalcoholic beer from Sierra Nevada.
Beer and traffic flow
The nonalcoholic tent is one of three new beverage stations to be introduced to expedite lines.
A can-only station positioned toward the middle of the venue will help divert traffic from the other lines. Canned beverages will include canned wine, beer from companies like Asheville Brewing and PBR, nonalcoholic waters and other soft drinks.
“It’s going to be more in the middle of the venue so hopefully people who are closer to the stage have less distance to go and not lose their spot,” Rangel said.
A new craft beer station at the back of the venue will focus on local craft beer and collaboration specials, which will be open at select shows. Rangel said partner breweries will be invited to brew an original beer in honor of the featured artist.
“Being around as long as we have, we have a lot of friends in the brewing community and have done lots of fun collaborations for some of the artists at Rabbit Rabbit,” Rangel said. “We did a beer with Sierra Nevada for Willie Nelson. We enjoyed that experience and want to do it more often.”
For the April 28, Hi-Wire Brewing was tapped to make a special brew in honor of country headliner Red Clay Strays.
Rabbit Rabbit food
Rabbit Rabbit’s returning, rotating food partners will include Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ and Mountain View BBQ. Asheville Taco will continue to serve hungry concertgoers, and Asheville Brewing and Pizza will be back and serving single slices. Attendees may order pizza directly from the neighboring restaurant, too.
Rabbit Rabbit
Where: 75 Coxe Ave., Asheville.
Info: For more, visit rabbitrabbitavl.com or facebook.com/rabbitrabbitavl and follow on Instagram @rabbitrabbitavl.
Stories you may have missed:
Popular Asheville pizzeria, brewery, movie theater up for sale
Bear takes a stroll through Rabbit Rabbit in downtown Asheville
Highland Brewing celebrates 30 years with Big Bash, classic beers, disc golf, more
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Rabbit Rabbit rolls out improvements as concert season amps up
