It’s time for another P.B. Scott’s reunion! The famous Blowing Rock music hall closed some 40 years ago, but those who experienced it during its seven years in operation still can’t stop talking about it. There have been a number of reunions over the these past 40 years and another is on its way at Jones House during this year’s Boonerang Festival, taking place this weekend, June 19th through the 22nd.
The Boonerang Festival takes place in and around downtown Boone. Festival organizers added a spot on the calendar for the P.B.’s reunion and get together on Saturday June 21st at 6:30pm at the Jones House.
Brian Fussell, who was the original visionary for the music hall’s concept back in 1976, attended the Boonerang Festival last year and enjoyed the scene and the vibe so much that afterward he began to think that maybe some form of P.B. Scott reunion at the 2025 Boonerang Festival would be a perfect time and place for P.B. fans and ”alumni “ to meet up and enjoy some like minded companionship and fun, once again.
“Boonerang 2024 was my first time at the Festival,” said Fussell, “and it was amazing to see just how much the music scene has changed in Boone. It was great to see people having fun enjoying all the different kinds of music. Music, and the sense of happiness that comes from experiencing music, reminded me of PB’s. The music may have changed, and the people may have changed, but that feeling has not. That feeling is what made me build PB’s, and that same feeling is what made me want to have PB’s be a part of Boonerang, 2025”
Fussell approached the organizers of the Boonerang Festival back in the winter with some ideas and they settled on an hour long time slot on the front lawn of the Jones House between The Burnett Sisters Band, and Downtown Getdown Drum Circle performances. There will be plenty of room on the lawn for socializing, and the location lies directly in the middle of the Festival’s location.
There will be displays and contests. “We’re going to have a video “scrapbook,” featuring some of the many amazing musicians who played at PB’s”, said Fussell. “Also, a ‘Name That Band’ contest, along with a trivia contest to test our collective memories.”
One of the displays at Jones House will be a nine-foot long banner displaying 50 of the monthly P.B. calendars that featured the bands and performers that were scheduled to play each month. During the Music Hall’s heyday, some 10,000 calendars were mailed out monthly along with being distributed across the High Country and surrounding region. Randy Kelly, manager of P.B. Scott’s, turned his collection of calendars into the banner that will be on display at the Round-Up. Kelly said, “Back then we decided to make the calendars a collective display of the great music coming up each month so patrons could plan what shows they wanted to come out and see. After a while, we improved the calendar to a foldable four page design with bios of each night’s offering. By including some ads on the calendars, we were able to print 10,000 each month and mail them to every member who gave us their address. I think every ASU student and patron had at least two months of calendars attached to their refrigerator back in those days.”
The reunion banner Kelly has made includes 50 monthly calendars from his personal calendar collection that he still cherishes to this day. But there are some 28 monthly calendars that he does not have. Kelly hopes folks who gather for the reunion can help him fill in those missing calendars. And listed below are the calendar months he hopes will come his way so that he can have them scanned and returned to their owners. “Through the years of reunions and moving around, some of my calendars have gone missing,” said Kelly. “I would dearly treasure any of you great fans out there searching your closets or shoeboxes for any that I could use to fill in the missing holes. It would be great to have the whole collection to share with PB. fans.”
Fussell has also been busy organizing some treats for those who attend. Fussell said, ”We’re going to have stickers, water bottles, and T-shirts available, as well as calendar and poster reprints … lots of memorabilia to go with the memories.”
Interested members of the public don’t have to be alumni of P.B. Scott’s to attend the gathering. Everyone is welcome to drop by and see what the music hall was all about; hear some stories, and see some memories about the famous music hall that will never be forgotten.
The P.B. Scott’s “Round-Up” and get together will take place on Saturday, June 21st, from 6:30 to 7:30 on the lawn in front of the Jones House. Wear your old P.B. Scott’s t-shirt (if you can still fit in it), bring your old membership card and memorabilia. And bring a favorite story or two to share – and come and have some fun!
_____________________________________________________________________________
MORE ABOUT the DAYS of P.B. SCOTT’S
P.B. Scott’s was the brainchild of Brian Fussell, a native of Atlanta who found himself working in the restaurant business in Linville in the 1970s. He became fascinated with the trend of college students traveling to Blowing Rock from across the High Country because it was only place in the mountains where you could buy a beer. At that time the mountains were “dry” – which meant the sale of beer, wine and liquor was illegal. Coming from Atlanta, Brian was accustomed to places that not only served alcohol, but provided pardons with entertainment and live music. With all these college students from ASU and Lees McRae (the drinking age back then was 18) looking for nightlife fun, he thought Blowing Rock would be the perfect spot for a music hall.
Brian formed a limited partnership called “Pie in the Sky LLC”, raised $45,000, and found five acres of land in Blowing Rock where Twigs Restaurant is located today. He secured the rights to more than 300 parking spaces for $435 per month and the plan started to become reality.
Brian had two waiters at his restaurant with construction experience who had a friend who was building small geodesic dome homes in Tennessee. That’s where the idea of a geodesic type dome came from for the music hall. The P.B.’s building became a much larger version of the small structures already being built as homes. Construction of the dome proved challenging, but the music hall eventually opened in October of 1976. Doc Watson was the opening act.
P.B. Scott’s had an initial capacity of 500 people; later additions increased that number to 700. The sky-lit dome, was 58 feet in diameter, with two balconies. The inside was all wood. The audience, no matter where they sat, or stood, was never more than 40 feet from the stage.
A cast of characters would follow Brian into the management of P.B Scott’s, each providing their talents and ideas into improving the music hall. Allen Sharpe became an integral part of PB’s. Allen was responsible for having the Bose Corporation install a state-of-the-art sound system, in return for P.B. Scott’s advertising the Bose logo on all of its brochures, t-shirts, fliers, etc.
Randy Kelly (who still has a home in Foscoe ), became the man responsible for handling the musical acts among other things. Randy kept the stage rockin’ with his eye for talent, bringing in big name national acts, regional favorites and unknown up and coming bands – such as R.E.M. in 1982. Randy would go on to manage “Legends” music venue on the ASU campus for 20 years after P.B.’s closed.
Being a member of the staff at P.B.’s was a much sought-after position, and the charming bartenders became famous for slinging beers as fast as they could.
Every month P.B.’s would produce their famous calendar of that month’s entertainment lineup that found its way onto patrons’ refrigerators. During its heyday about 10,000 of those calendars were mailed out each month to members of the P.B. Scott’s fan club.
However, with its success in providing a wonderful venue for entertainment, the small-town locals of Blowing Rock became annoyed with all this fun and mischief that was going on into the night. The town council and government began exploring ways to have this “nuisance” go away. Thus, began years of legal battles that P.B.’s managed to hold off as long as they could. Finally, after three years of litigation, the N.C. Supreme Court sided with the Town of Blowing Rock and the state ABC Commission and P’B. Scott’s was forced to close. On Jun 18, 1983, The SpongeTones, a regional favorite, performed the last show.
You must be logged in to post a comment.