The best events (and memories) are the ones you share–even if you’re sharing them in a downpour.
If most people had the same first experience as the Incendiary Brewing Company did with their first attempt at a live concert, they probably wouldn’t have tried it again.
“We tried to have a concert for our grand opening in the Innovation Quarter,” Chris Straus says. Straus is the taproom manager for Incendiary.
“We actually wanted to have a two-day concert,” John Bacon, co-owner of Incendiary adds. “But a hellish storm came through, picking up tents.”
“One of our beer tents was tangled up in the string lights,” Brandon Branscome, co-owner and – for Incendiary, remembers.
The storm wasn’t just a little bit of rain. These were torrential rains. Everyone who had come down hoping for a fun, outdoor concert in the Coalpit outside of Incendiary ran inside, huddling up tight.
And then lightning hit the building next door.
“It popped, it was loud, and must have flipped a breaker or something,” Branscombe says. “It was like almost all the lights went out.”
Somehow, though, the music was still playing.
“The DJ started playing all the rain songs, and Purple Rain came on at one point,” Straus says.
Would-be concert goers pulled out their phones, lighting up the brewery, and sang together.
“People say if everything went perfect, nobody would remember it,” Branscombe says.
Everyone remembers that concert. In fact, Incendiary commemorates that first live concert experience every year with its DTKS Purple Rain anniversary beer.
That very soggy concert still ranks on the Incendiary team’s list of favorite concerts held because of the shared experience it created and the community it helped build.
The rained out concert didn’t dampen the brewery’s enthusiasm for live music–it amplified it. Now–seven years later–Incendiary has become a hotspot for live music with Coalpit Live, a free concert series that they host every summer in the Coalpit next to the brewery.
The Coalpit is situated behind Bailey Power Plant, which–formerly a coal-fired power plant–is now a preeminent gathering spot in the iQ for grabbing a bite or a beer. And for a concert experience that is uniquely Winston-Salem.
How Coalpit Live Became a Series
A year after that magical concert in the storm, Incendiary was celebrating its first anniversary in the iQ, and how do you celebrate an anniversary? You throw a party.
Incendiary booked 90s rock favorite Fuel and put on a free concert in the Coalpit.
Why Fuel, you ask?
“I thought that Fuel worked with the whole Incendiary name,” Branscome says.
“Plus, we’re creatures of the 90s,” Bacon adds. “Our best music days are in the 90s.”
The concert was a hit. The turnout was huge–it was the perfect anniversary.
“I think that concert opened the possibility of what we could do,” Branscome says. “Even when we go back and look at pictures now, we can’t believe we were seeing that many people out here.”
The pandemic year of 2020 interrupted the journey somewhat, but in 2021, Incendiary officially started the Coalpit Live series, putting together a more intentional series of shows. Since then, the concert series consists of nine to twelve events over the course of a summer, usually running from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
And every single event is free.
Some of the bands that Coalpit Live brings in are names you might recognize: Fuel, Gin Blossoms, and the up-and-coming act Moon Taxi.
“At first, we tried to stick more with the 90s rock bands kind of thing, but I think the lineup progressed as we’ve matured a little bit,” Branscome says. “We definitely have a wider range now than we did when we started.”
Not all bands that come to Coalpit Live are nationally-known.
“We get local acts who draw really big crowds,” Bacon says.
Some of the local crowd favorites include bands like Camel City Yacht Club, Vagabond Saints’ Society, Big Daddy Love, and Crenshaw Pentecostal.
Both local and more national acts have a tendency to draw people to the iQ who aren’t familiar with the Coalpit and its surroundings.
“Coalpit Live is a great exposure piece for people who actually come to Winston-Salem to see those bands. Every concert we have people who have never been to the Coalpit or haven’t been to the Winston-Salem area,” Ray Boden says. Boden is managing partner for Coalpit Live, as well as chief operating officer for the Gear & Guitars Music Festival and Winston-Salem Cycling.
A Special Space
The Incendiary crew works hard to bring the best bands to the iQ, and what they create are shared experiences in a really special space.
There’s no denying that the Coalpit itself plays a part in making the concert series something memorable.
“Even when we don’t have a concert, people love coming to the Coalpit,” Straus says. “It’s a cool place to hang out and meet your friends or bring your kids.”
The Coalpit is often full of activity. Whether it’s kids zooming around on scooters or a vintage clothing market on a weekend, there are many uses for the large concrete pit criss-crossed with a former train trestle.
“It’s just a unique space,” Branscome says. “Nobody else really has anything like this, and it’s just kind of a cool Winston-Salem thing. You can’t do this in Raleigh, you can’t do this in Charlotte.”
Boden, who calls the Coalpit “Winston-Salem’s amphitheater,” loves the space best when there’s a concert going on.
“There’s 1,500 to 2,000 people down there, and it’s controlled chaos,” Boden says. “That is my favorite. It’s like a perfect storm of everything just rolling in there and it’s a great time.”
Contributing to the Community
Though the Coalpit Live concerts are free to attend, the events do give a boost to Incendiary, as well as surrounding businesses and the iQ as a whole.
“For us, the return on investment is exposure, but it’s exposure for everybody,” Boden says. “Everyone in the Innovation Quarter benefits when the community comes together for a good time.”
The more people who are exposed to the iQ by events like Coalpit Live, the more varied and active the community becomes.
“We really appreciate tenants and community partners, like Incendiary, who support the district with their own events and programs throughout the year. Series like Coalpit Live help build community and connection in our city,” Lindsey Schwab, director of community relations for the iQ, says.
As part of the iQ team, Schwab is deeply involved in bringing programming and events to the innovation district, as well as helping to create spaces like the Coalpit that can hold those events.
“Creating vibrant spaces that people enjoy and feel connected to requires a commitment not only to developing the physical environment, but also activating that environment through events,” Schwab says.
Other companies like Front Street Capital, which developed Bailey South, and Wexford Science + Technology, which helped renovate many of the buildings in the iQ, support bringing the physical spaces to life by sponsoring Coalpit Live, building on their initial investment into the buildings by investing back into the community.
The Coalpit Live Series isn’t the only way that the Incendiary Brewing Company participates in the community of the iQ and in Winston-Salem. They provide sponsorships and beverages for other iQ programs like Innovation & Cinema and Bailey Beats, as well as participating in the Gears & Guitars festival through Boden’s role.
As Incendiary opened new locations–in Lewisville and Raleigh–those places started offering
events of their own for the larger community, and several times a year, Incendiary hosts fundraising events for entities like the fire department and the Humane Society.
Among these other endeavors, though, Coalpit Live holds a special place for the Incendiary team.
“There’s no spot like that concrete bowl. It doesn’t exist, there’s nothing like that anywhere,” Boden says. “It’s Winston-Salem’s free general admission amphitheater and this series is a gift to the public from these three people right here,” he says, indicating the trio of Branscombe, Bacon, and Straus.
“We definitely do it for the party and the people,” Branscome says.
To learn more about events in the iQ, visit the iQ calendar.
