STRIKING GOLD: The ’58 adds a 225-capacity indoor venue to the Eastside Bowl in Nashville. (Courtesy Venue)

Nashville multi-venue entertainment complex Eastside Bowl strikes gold with The ’58

The ’58 takes over the former diner space at Eastside Bowl with, a new 225-capacity venue designed to fill a gap for small rock clubs in Music City.

The new room earned its name from its color concept using the actual gold paint mixture of the famed 1958 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, granted as a special purchase to Eastside Bowl by Gibson Guitars.

The ’58 will be a welcome addition to the building’s already popular 600-capacity main venue and the Low Volume Lounge stage, which carries on the “neighborhood stage” legacy of The Family Wash.

“None of us are really restaurant people,” confided Santo Pullella, talent buyer and venue operations manager.

Co-owner “Chark Kinsolving was the original owner of Mercy Lounge, the High Watt and Cannery Ballroom. “He said, ‘You know what, let’s do what we know how to do. Let’s build another rock room.’ That’s a great idea. We can do that in our sleep,” Pullella added.

The two-month renovation is complete and shows are booked in July with The Wise Man’s Fear (7/16), John Mailander’s Forecast (7/24), The Georgia Thunderbolts (7/25) and Sparta (7/27).

The ’58 adds a third stage and new opportunities at the venue, which is independently owned by Kinsolving and Jamie Rubin, who opened The Family Wash, a popular bar, restaurant and music venue in East Nashville in 2002.

“With Chark and Jamie they are all about what feels right and go with your instincts,” said Pullella. “It feels very organic and freestyle, but firmly based on decades of experience.”

Veteran talent buyer John Bruton is joining the booking team after two years of retirement. Bruton had been the longtime buyer at The High Watt, Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom.

“Not long after I retired, I realized how much I missed working as a talent buyer,” said Bruton. “I feel Eastside Bowl and The ‘58 will be the perfect fit for me.”

Eastside Bowl is building momentum and reputation following a successful 2023 that brought high-profile concerts including Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, Jenny Lewis and The Dead South, along with the distinction of being named one of The World’s 13 Most Unique Bowling Alleys by Architectural Digest.

The addition of a third stage “unties my hands for the job of putting bodies in here, people that love music,” said Pullella. “We are all about diversity and having a space that promotes creativity.”

With a capacity under 250, The ’58 is a launchpad for developing talent to start to learn what touring is all about and develop a strategy for performing in the market. For music enthusiasts, it’s a place to discover new talent before acts become household names. Admission is accessible at $10 to $20, with some exceptions.

“This venue opening up, The ’58, gives us more weight to say, ‘Hey, we are focused on artist development here,’” explained Pullella. “It’s what we believe and what we believe it means to the fans.”

While the former diner space no longer operates as a sit-down restaurant, the kitchen still serves an upgraded menu in the Lounge, the bowling lanes and the limited tables that remain in the back of The ‘58. Complimenting the 16 lanes of bowling and multiple stages is a new billiards room in a space that was previously an arcade.

“Eastside Bowl is a place where whether you are coming for a show, or to bowl or sit down and eat at these tables that have custom artwork and lights that make the tables look like they are moving, this whole place captures your imagination,” said Pullella. “It’s a fun place to be.”