Reviewed by: Elizabeth Hobbs
Get a first look at the reimagined Lumberyard + why it is important to Huntsville history + music culture
Reading time: 7 minutes
We learned a lot about Huntsville’s place in music history and where it’s headed at Thursday night’s reopening event for Lumberyard, a former focal point of the local entertainment scene from 2006 until it closed in 2021.
The stories came by way of Lumberyard founder and Huntsville-based studio owner, musician and producer Doug Smith. We followed the sounds of laughter, music and ping-pong to find him tucked away in a corner of the complex in a delightful new feature called Swamp Pong … more on that later!
Read on for more about Smith’s story and this circa-1895 venue as it enters a new era.
Meet Lumberyard founder Doug Smith
Over 40 years ago, Doug Smith was a touring musician and fell in love with the city after playing here. Already attracted to the music and people of the Muscle Shoals area, visiting Huntsville cemented his decision to move.
He relocated his studio from Atlanta and joined with a local musician, Hershey Reeves, to form Sound Cell Recording Studios in 1981. Smith found success in the studio and various roles in the music industry, from artist development to engineering and production.
A few of the artists he worked with over the years include: Take 6, Alicia Keys, Kenny Rogers, Brian McKnight, Vanessa Williams, Phil Collins, Bonnie Raitt, Lari White, Willie Nelson, Michael Hedges, BeBe Winans and Skip Scarborough.
With his studio on the corner of Meridian Street and Cleveland Avenue for many years, around 2006, Smith decided he wanted to invest in the whole block.
Developing AM Smith’s Lumberyard
The historic lumberyard behind him had become a junkyard by then, he says. He approached city planning leaders with an idea to make it a music and event venue. Initially, they were surprised, he says, punctuating the point with a hearty laugh.
Soon, they all came to the table and were a huge support, Smith says.
“We eventually became the No. 1 event venue in Huntsville and won the ‘This Place Matters’ Award from the city. We were doing something like 270 events a year, plus we had a restaurant open seven days a week, five stages of live music going, and sometimes, we had 1,000 people here.”
Doug Smith
Today’s reimagined Lumberyard has its many eclectic spaces restored and more added. You can rent the entire venue or specific areas for almost any type of event, from company retreats to weddings.
A few of its features include:
- Many outdoor spaces
- Shops + a handful of indoor spaces
- A remodeled 1924 Pullman train car
- A large, covered bar
Rediscover Lumberyard, a place that rewards curiosity
☝️ Check out this gallery of more images from Thursday night’s preview party at Lumberyard. (Lisa Battles / Hville Blast)
Smith spent the first part of the opening event observing from his favorite new spot, Swamp Pong, just “seeing how people react to it.”
He told us how the spooky face peering from the “swamp shack” across the room is “the little me who is gonna be here forever.” (It’s a plaster life mask he made as a kid at summer camp.)
“Swamp Pong was a big effort and kind of my play thing. I wanted something in the corner that would cause people to walk all the way back here, because sometimes people just stop and go, ‘Oh well, I’ve seen it all.’
“This is what the Lumberyard is about: Those secret spots where you find something and go ‘Whoah. I didn’t know that was there!'”
Doug Smith
While the whole place was “mothballed” for several years after closing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons fame called upon Smith and his daughter, Jessica, to pour love back into the space. It reopened partially in October of 2024 to host Microwave Dave Day.
How Smith + Lovett connected
While you may already know Lovett’s London-based company, tvg (The Venue Group) launched the 8,000-seat venue The Orion Amphitheater in 2022, fewer are aware of the group’s bigger picture investment in the music ecosystem here in Huntsville. Several years ago, Lovett recognized Lumberyard’s place in its history and how it should play into its future.
Why was a world-famous British musician looking at Huntsville, anyway? Here’s a snapshot:
- In 2018, the City of Huntsville formalized its interest in establishing the city as a music destination, bringing on the London-based consulting group, Sound Diplomacy.
- The company conducted a “music audit” to determine the viability of Huntsville as a music destination and identify opportunities for the future.
- The city council got results and recommendations in August of 2019. The next year, Mayor Tommy Battle formed a music board.
- The folks with Sound Diplomacy were connected to the tvg team and turned them onto what the city was doing.
- In addition to developing The Orion, tvg sought other opportunities to “increase the whole musical ecosystem,” Smith says.
- That interest led Lovett to Lumberyard.
“Ben just came in here on a tour one Tuesday night. I had no idea who he was, and he had no idea who I was. We just walked around, talked and clicked.”
Doug Smith
Taking a long pause during the pandemic
After that meeting, Lovett and his colleagues returned in early 2020, visiting the Lumberyard after scouting around town for a specific-sized venue. Smith says he noticed them with “glum faces having beers on the patio,” so he asked what was up.
He learned they needed a space that was 5,000 square feet, and it turns out, he happened to have it. The group canceled their plane tickets home, stuck around and negotiated a deal, Smith says.
“We shook hands, and with the first case of COVID-19 having shown up in England, Ben said ‘I don’t know where this is gonna go, but we are committed to making this happen.'”
Doug Smith
Finally, the space is ready for more creative connections, conversations and chance meetings as it resumes its place in Huntsville’s music and cultural scene.
Upcoming events @ Lumberyard
Besides event bookings, the Lumberyard has a slate of special events anyone can attend, including:
- Weekdays in May: Free coffee + open work spaces, 8-11 AM
- Friday, May 9: An evening of story and song with Jim Avett @ 7PM + The Red Flags @ 9PM | Get Tickets
- Saturday, May 31: Scandal at the Strawberry Festival, an interactive murder mystery dinner presented by The Blue Melody @ 6:30PM | Get Tickets
- Tuesdays in June: The Huntsville Food & Farm Hub, 4-7 PM
ICMYI: You can see our our behind-the-scenes first look at Lumberyard here!👇
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