NC Music Factory

Potential to be a great concert venue. Inconsistent enforcement of rules for tailgating, lawn chairs and parking resulted in altercations that I don’t want my family exposed to.

the price for up front seats was absurd at 700. and 14.00 for a beer? . Are they f-​ing kidding the bathrooms a mile away other wise the earth wind &fire show was pretty good. However there are alot of other shows that are free the kannapolis ampher theater venue was a real nice show no pretensiosness just a great time, show, fireworks, and the concessions didnt epty our pockets we saw the little river band what a show and did i mention it was F R E E !

Visited here tonight with a large group. The drinks were ok. The food is a TeX Mex… if u like this kind of food… u may enjoy it. It wasn’t bad… it just wasn’t great either.

It’s a destination-​type place. But do you know what separates it from most venues like that: it has free parking. Tons of it.
Rundown of the spots here:
The Fillmore: incredible place for shows. They bring in some solid acts. Like any concert venue… drinks can be pricey. Don’t worry, there are some great places around to pre-​game before/​after shows. One of those spots is…
Small Bar! Great little dive. I love this place.
VBGB: sand court for volleyball and what not, tons of beers, oversized games outside, TVs, food… go get yourself a pretzel with the homemade beer cheese!
Comedy Zone: I love going here. Great option for a date or night out with friends. They bring in a good variety of comics. Check the calendar to see who’s there each week.
Matties: tremendous little diner across the street. The people here are so friendly. Breakfast, fries covered in gravy, a laundry list of milkshakes… what’s not to love here.
Label: it’s one of the prettiest clubs (interior/​décor wise). Label does a good job of bringing in some big name djs.
Texi-​cali: Tex mex… nothing fancy. On Tuesdays, they have $ 2 tacos. Check their Facebook page for events. This place gets rocking when they do salsa dancing. This spot has been a revolving door of restaurants. I hope Texi-​cali breaks that cycle.
Eight: the new kid on the block. I love that there is now a sushi option here at the Factory. They have boozy bubble teas, too.
Osso: I have never sat down inside here for a meal. The only thing I’ve had from here was a meatball pizza and it was pretty yummy.
Fountain Plaza: they do some cool events out here throughout the year. During the Summer months, they’ll do free concerts on Fridays.
Amphitheatre: this venue is much smaller than PNC. This location is more convenient and easier to get out of after shows IMO.
Automatic Slims: this is another one of those spots that can’t seem to keep a tenant. This seems like a good concept to be next to The Fillmore. They have pool tables. Very rock n roll type feel.

Impressive to see the «entertainment campus» concept in action. Super convenient to mix it up with drinks, dinner, a show, dancing and more drinks after (wink). All without having to leave, find parking, leave find parking. Can’t wait to see a show at the Fillmore or the Comedy Zone.

Really nice area for a girls night out or date night. Good restaurants and clubs. Very young vibe on the weekends, but fun!

My experience with the uptown amphitheater was pretty good. Arrived at 6 to start moving people in 6:30. The lawn section is within about 50 yards of the stage but boy do they need to mow their grass the day of a concert. Basically forces you to rent out the lawn chairs they have.

Music factory is a nice place to check out, wet willies has awesome frozen drinks.

I really like the concept behind the Music Factory!
Basically it’s Drinks + Music = Good Times
There’s a little bit of everything so if you like live music, bands, comedy and clubs for dancing… this is your spot! Also, parking is free… there’s a huge lot in back. but ladies beware the rocks and gravel are not friends with your cute heels!
But still it’s a very welcome attraction for visitors and locals so if you get a chance I would definitely recommend a visit.

This is specifically about Fountain plaza. I have attended Fri Night Live events here several times. It is such a great place for such events. The stage on the back of Butter is perfect for a concert. It’s large and high enough up that they don’t need security in front to it.
There is enough space to fit a large crowd, numerous beer and other drink vendors, plus radio stations, Mini displays and other vendors.
Wet Willies and The Saloon’s patios are great places to be able to sit and watch the music.
Parking is free and there is always plenty of space even with other events going on. Overall the Fri Night Live series is one of the best summer events in Charlotte.

The Fillmore is a great music venue. Arrived right at 8 for an 8:00 show. Intro band on at 8:40 and the main act by 9:30. I was afraid we’d be too late for a good view, but we stood right at the barricade on the bar side of the stage. Awesome view and didn’t even have to wait forever to get it.
The chandeliers are beautiful and make for an interesting venue. Note that (for us at least) it was standing room only. The drinks were ridiculously small for a large price ($ 9 I think for a 3″ tall cup) but that is to be expected at a concert. Parking was no problem and right across the street from the Fillmore.

A fine group of places to see shows and a welcome addition to Charlotte. I don’t really go to places like these to plan on eating/​drinking but to listen to music and be entertained and I always have been when attending shows at any of the venues. Just reviewed TWC Amphitheatre after attending the Smashing Pumpkins show this week and it’s just one more piece of a well constructed puzzle.

The whole venue they have down there has pretty much everything you would want for your drinking/​dining/​events enjoyment. VBGB is a great place to stop and have some beers, the filmore usually has some top notch acts and there are a few other bars where you can wet your whistle and park it for a while to hang out with friends. Only word of warning is that if you go to the filmore bring tons of cash if you plan on drinking anything other than tap water from the restroom. It’s like 9 $ a beer there which means they are basically charging more than minimum wage for you to have one 22oz can of bud light.

«A» for effort, but «C «for execution. The music factory has a whole bunch of cool stuff going on throughout the year and has become a new nightlife destination for Charlotteans. The only problem is that even though I could basically see it out of my window over on N. Church St., it is basically cloistered on all sides by freeways, railroad tracks, a cemetery, and dark wooded shady (not referring to the lighting) areas.
Most, if not all people, will arrive here by car — even if you live in Uptown — because it would be unsafe to arrive by any other means. It’s a shame because you don’t have an Uptown urbane feeling, which would be cool since the place is a cool collection of old factory buildings and etc. Also, the options are not as varied as you might hope, most places (as is the case too often in Charlotte) are epicenter-​esque fancy-​ish higher priced spots. Give it another decade and maybe there will be some more authentic local spots.
If 9^th street still connected through from uptown proper to the music factory it might make a big difference (right now you’d have to illegally cross ~4 sets of heavily used RR tracks).

The NC Music Factory packs an entertainment punch for Third Ward goers. A surplus of choices and none will disappoint.
Small Bar and the saloon are great places to grab a quick beer or enjoy live music. Comedy Zone tends to have a varied lineup throughout the week and always has great improv nights. Check their schedule online as it varies.
VBGB or Mattie’s Diner are great places to grab a quick bite to eat. Post or pre-​beer friendly food and all are available latenight. Parking can be a bit of a bear but is plentiful in the lot. Can cost $$ on occasion so be prepared with a little bit of cash. Lots of street parking near the saloon and Bask, but can sometimes be blocked off for big event weekends. VBGB has its own lot but can fill up fast.
Catch a bite to eat, a show, a round of beers or enjoy the nightlife/​people watching!

There is one thing the Music Factory often is not, and that is a factory for music. I have probably been half a dozen times, and out of those times, only once has there been music (one other time did have shows, but little was «music»). To be fair, there was a lot of music that one time, all across the place, but the others? Not so much.
You can find somewhat upscale dining (Bask). There is also dining on the lower end (as in casual, not necessarily quality) at Mattie’s, which also hosts gatherings of all sorts on their parking lot. You have the obligatory collegiate hangout in Wet Willie’s, which is odd, since Charlotte is not much of a college town. There is the place that cannot decide what they want to be in the Saloon, which could be a bar, restaurant or even perhaps a music club.
If that is not enough, you have the small bar, which is something like a take-​out window you would find on Bourbon Street (only you do not have to take out your drinks) and even the VBGB Beer Garden, perhaps the gem of the whole place. And I am probably missing something.
Yes, there is the Fillmore and the Ampitheatre, but they do not run all the time, only when there are shows — which is happening more than they did, but like a sports venue, they cannot be filled constantly.
Ultimately, is it good? Totally depends on which location you hit. And what else is happening. As Angie said, the concept is great. The location sorta blows, but to get this kind of development, they needed a lot of space, so there were not too many options. If there were an easier way to get there, it would be great. There is a ton of parking over by Mattie’s, it is just too bad that they are so far away from everything. If you could walk there from Uptown, it would be great.

Like a slow but steady choo choo train… NC Music Factory is definitely picking up steam! If you’re looking for a varied fun night out, it’s certainly worth a visit.
Looking for a cocktail? The Saloon, Small Bar, VBGB and Wet Willie’s have you covered. How about dinner? Mattie’s Diner and Bask will pimp your palette. And for entertainment value, you’ve also got Butter, Comedy Zone, Halo and plenty of music venues like the amphitheater and The Fillmore.
Parking is plentiful, especially behind Mattie’s Diner… if you don’t mind walkin’ a bit! There’s also (supposedly) a free 18-​passenger shuttle (Uptown-​NC Music Factory) that runs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

I LOVE the concept of the NC Music Factory!
An outdoor music venue, an indoor one, a diner, bars & dance clubs all packed together on one «campus». My favorite place there is The Fillmore.
The one problem I do have is the parking situation. Too many venues /​bars & parking is out of control. Yes, it’s free, but wow… if something is happening @ Fillmore & the Amphitheater, then throw in people going to the bars & clubs = disaster.

After seeing Paul put his review up… I had to join in! This venue is almost perfect in design and the acoustics are amazing. I love outdoor concerts and yet the amphitheater gives you a club feel while being outside.
That being said… like my review of the Fillmore… you will see that catching a buzz will require a credit card or a well hidden flask (leave your bongs at home). The whole Music Factory complex begs for a keg party straight out of high school to explode in the parking lot. Wait… what? Oh… that’s right… we DO tailgate before shows. Ten dollars can get you a 12 pack of PBR and a sammy… or one 24 ounce beer inside… and that’s without a tip. My tip? Lower your freakin drink prices!
Like others have said though… this place is great and they’re attracting better and more obscure acts all the time. I’m just happy to have some reputable venues around.

I remember when the NC Music Factory was first being built. Creative Loafing moved their offices over there before much anything else was there. There was one small bar/​club space in there and to get to the complex you had to drive over some brutal railroad tracks. Now Seaboard St allows for easy access to the venue without going over the tracks (which have since been blocked off).
What is the NC Music Factory anyway? It’s basically a planned entertainment district just on the outskirts of uptown, and as the name suggests, the district focuses on musical entertainment. Most of the buildings are old textile mills, much like most of the buildings in NoDa and some in South End. There is the Fillmore, an indoor concert venue, the cheesily named Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater which is an intimate outdoor venue, and the outdoor stage near the fountain at the factory.
The bars and restaurants now include Bask, the Saloon, Wet Willies, and VBGB beer garden. I was happy to see Wet Willie’s open since the ones in Charleston and Savannah were fun. In case you don’t know, it’s a big daiquiri bar with drinks like «Call a Cab» made with 190 grain alcohol. A Comedy Zone finally opened about 5 years after the one on 9^th St closed, so that’s also a nice addition.
One thing that really hindered this district from taking off was the accessibility and parking. We tried going one night last year just to go to Wet Willie’s and the parking alone was $ 15 so we didn’t go. The district also is not served by light rail or bus, so that made things difficult too. However, there are now several large free parking lots, and there’s also a shuttle that runs from uptown on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights which helps so the parking issue seems to be resolved.
The NC Music Factory is a great addition to Charlotte and the region and it seems to be bringing some much needed economical impact. There weren’t too many mid-​size concert venues here until it opened, so it helps with booking acts that are too big for places like Amos but not big enough for an arena. It’s a cool place to hang out, get a drink and see a show.