New music venue coming to Commercial, National

Longtime fixtures in the Springfield music scene are behind plans for a new venue on the north side.

David Bates, who co-owns MoonTown Sound with Matt Baker and their spouses, Ash Bates and Christina Baker, said they're targeting an opening around September for the music venue at 1135 E. Commercial St., at the intersection with National Avenue. The space, which is next door to a former Save A Lot grocery store that closed last year, has previously been used for a variety of functions, including bars and a boxing gym.

"We came at this from the love of music more than anything else," David Bates said. "The music scene is beginning to be revived on Commercial Street with Lindberg's and Ruthies and Moon City. We decided on this space because we really like Commercial."

Bates said MoonTown Sound would offer musicians a new place to play in Springfield while serving alcohol and providing audiovisual services such as cameras, sound and lighting. Baker owns The Dancing Soundman, said Bates, who is in the band The Silence Between and operates software company Platypus River as his day job.

At MoonTown Sound, bands would get 100% of the door proceeds, Bates said.

"It's pay to play for most of the big spots. That's not what we're doing," he said. "You've come to make money. You should get all of that."

Startup costs for MoonTown Sound, which spans 4,350 square feet and is designed to have a capacity of 240 people, have been approximately $200,000 to date, Bates said. The building's landlord is Sonya Carter, he said, declining to disclose the lease rate.

MoonTown Sound is working with Springfield-based Throughline Architecture LLC on the design, and fire suppression systems are currently being installed, Bates said.

Bates said MoonTown Sound hopes to be part of a revival of the Springfield music scene, which he characterized as having been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This whole culture has been crazy for musicians of trying to survive," he said. "The music community's been waiting for something like this."