Holly Bowling and the First Night at 5 Points Music Sanctuary

On March 13, 2017, Holly Bowling played the first official concert at 5 Points Music Sanctuary in Roanoke.

For nearly two and a half hours, Bowling recast songs by the Grateful Dead and Phish as classically arranged piano pieces. People travelled to hear a familiar catalogue stripped away from the scale of a rock show and rebuilt around one instrument in an intimate room.

That made the night more than a soft opening. 5 Points describes it as the start of the movement it was building around live music, hearing-loss advocacy, music therapy and accessibility. Bowling was the first artist from outside the region to hear that story directly, and the venue later connected her return visits to the community programs growing around the room.

The choice of artist also said something about the venue. A room that calls itself a sanctuary opened with patient, listening-first music and an audience willing to follow familiar songs into a different shape. It was a concert, but it also established the kind of attention 5 Points wanted the space to hold.

Bowling would return several times. The first night remains the clearest statement of intent: sound as something people hear, see, feel and share.

Plan a visit to 5 Points Music Sanctuary with CouchLot's venue guide.

Source: 5 Points Music Sanctuary's account of Holly Bowling's opening concert.