Billy Strings Reopens Chattanooga's Restored Tivoli Theatre

Billy Strings is reopening the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, a 105-year-old landmark that just finished a $75 million restoration. We sat down with Nick Wilkinson of the Tivoli Foundation to find out how it happened, why a city spends that kind of money on a theater, and how the live music business really works.

Billy plays two nights at the Tivoli (Oct. 20 and 21) in a room of about 1,600 seats, during IBMA week. Nick explains how the reopening came together, how the ticket lottery works, why tickets can't be transferred, and how the free block party outside works, with the show projected on giant LED screens outside the venue.

Then we get into the bigger picture: why it took so long, who paid for it, why touring is now how artists make a living, the "no runny eggs" rule that keeps big acts coming back, how Live Nation and Ticketmaster fit in, where ticket fees actually go, and what's next for concerts in Chattanooga.

Listen to this week's episode here or watch it on YouTube. As always, subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get podcasts for weekly updates on Bonnaroo and festival news!

______

(00:00) Intro

(03:07) Interview: Nick Wilkinson, Tivoli Foundation

(04:12) Billy Strings and the Tivoli reopening

(11:28) Why the renovation took so long

(23:52) The music industry, no runny eggs and Live Nation

(44:44) Takeaways and festival news

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CaveFest 2026 Recap: Live From The Caverns

Tivoli Theatre Foundation

Saving Moon River: How the Festival Overcame a Sunday Rainout

______ 🎧 LISTEN LINKS Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic

📱 SOCIAL LINKS Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast

The What Podcast theme: "Aquarius" by *repeat repeat, used with permission. Other music provided by Midist and used with permission.

We love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or call (423) 667-7877 and leave us a voicemail. We might just feature it on the show.