LISA SCHEID | Business Trends ReporterBooked to the limit and turning away clients, Rock Lititz is building a $52 million facility near Nashville, Tennessee, set to be completed by the fall of 2025.
The new production campus will give 10-year-old Rock Lititz a foothold in the burgeoning Nashville music scene, which has been transitioning from the capital of country music to the center of collaboration among musicians and creatives from across the globe.
The three-building campus, called Rock Nashville, is planned for 54.7 acres at 4808 Buena Vista Pike in Davidson County, 8 miles from downtown Nashville and 15 miles from Nashville International Airport. The project broke ground in April.
The new campus will look much like Rock Lititz’s Warwick Township headquarters, with two rehearsal studios for arena tours, one up to 95 feet tall; creative offices; and production facilities of various sizes to accommodate the varying production specifications for live entertainment. It will also include 13 other rehearsal spaces to accommodate a variety of more intimate-sized performance venues. The campus is about half the size of Rock Lititz’s 108 acre campus.
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The new facility is not expected to impact Rock Lititz, the live industry community that has attracted performers such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Founded by Troy Clair, owner of audio innovators Clair Global, and Adam Davis, CEO of the TAIT Group, the Rock Lititz campus opened in 2014. It is now home to more than 40 different companies and nearly 2,000 designers, integrators, engineers, technicians and artists.
“We remain committed to the Lititz community and central Pennsylvania,” said Rock Lititz President and CEO Andrea Shirk. “Rehearsals, operations and growth plans for Lititz remain in place, and we are excited to expand our rehearsal studio options at the Rock Lititz campus as construction of the Academy of Live Technology will be completed in May. The strategic addition of Rock Nashville will continue the Rock Lititz legacy as a leader in supporting the live event industry.”
Rock Nashville plans do not include a hotel, public-access restaurant or live event industry-focused education facility, all of which are part of the Rock Lititz campus. It plans to partner with Blackbird Academy to bring education to the Nashville campus. Blackbird Academy is a Tennessee-based audio engineering school founded by recording and live sound engineer John McBride and his wife, country artist Martina McBride.
Rock Nashville is anticipated to employ 400 people in addition to 85 employees at support businesses when its complete, Rock Lititz said in announcing the project.
Privately-held Rock Lititz declined to detail finances for the project. In February, the company paid $18.5 million for the property, which is being developed by Ohio-based commercial real estate developer Al. Neyer, according to Davidson County property records. Rock Nashville also took out a $51.5 million loan to develop the site and pay for the land acquisition.
Timing right for strategic move
Shirk said the expansion is driven by growth of the live event industry and Nashville’s music scene.
“All of the Rock Lititz studios are heavily booked, with the need to turn away clients during its busiest seasons,” Shirk said in an email to LNP | LancasterOnline. “We are confident there will be enough demand to serve two markets. With so many industry professionals based in Nashville, this project helps Rock Lititz better connect with and support our live entertainment crews.”
According to Allied Market Research, the live events industry market was valued at $652.60 billion in 2022, and is estimated to reach $1.2 trillion by 2032.
Meanwhile, Shirk said, Nashville is quickly growing into a global hub of entertainment activity, and the new facility aims to serve that community.
“As we approach 10 years since Rock Lititz opened its doors, we've been eager to find the next space and partner for expanding our support for the live entertainment industry,” Shirk said. “This unique and hard-working community thrives with access to specialized training, mentoring, and resources to help create custom live experiences for audiences worldwide. It is with great excitement that we've identified Nashville and Al. Neyer as the right city and partner. We are passionate about growing this network, and Nashville is the perfect location to join with other industry leaders to create something special.”
There will be between five and seven anchor tenants and an anticipated total of 30 to 35 companies calling Rock Nashville home. Rock Nashville’s confirmed tenants include SoundCheck, the largest rehearsal studio complex under one roof in the world and the rehearsal venue of choice for many touring and recording entertainers; and Warwick Township-headquartered Clair Global, which provides live production services, systems integration, and audio solutions. SoundCheck will be moving from its home of 30 years on Cowan Street in Nashville.
“As a member of the Nashville entertainment community for over 30 years, we couldn’t be more excited to make Rock Nashville our new home,” said Soundcheck General Manager Kindal Jumper. “As Music City continues to grow as a premier destination for all genres of music, the campus’s state-of-the-art facilities will allow Soundcheck to meet the growing needs of today’s acts, ensuring the highest caliber production experience for artists from Broadway to Bridgestone.”
Shirk said the vision of offering more than one campus location has been discussed since nearly the beginning of Rock Lititz.
“We chose to wait to be certain we had a strong foundation before expanding,” Shirk wrote. “The timing, location and partners all came together in the right way to make it possible.”
Rock Nashville details
The three buildings at the Rock Nashville campus are planned with a cumulative footprint of just over 514,000 square feet for 30 to 35 companies and 15 studios, two of which are purpose-built production rehearsal studios.
Rock Nashville is envisioned as a home for touring production staff, road staff, sound engineers, lighting, video, and production assistants – a centralized home for artists and live entertainment professionals to imagine, build and rehearse their shows.
Rock Nashville said it will support all ranges of talent, from bar bands on Broadway to A-List artists playing stadiums. In addition to music acts, the facility is expected to support sporting events, half-time shows, theme park entertainment, cruise ship entertainment, brand activations, and experiential marketing for announcements, product launches and employee events.
Rock Lititz said lessons learned at its Warwick Township campus about noise are informing its design at Rock Nashville to help mitigate the impacts to the neighboring community.
