Owners exploring sale options for Louisville's iconic Headliners Music Hall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's iconic Headliners Music Hall is looking for someone to take over the business.

Headliners co-owners Billy Hardison and Joe Argabrite said in a Facebook post Monday they are "exploring options for future operators."

The sale is not for the 6,736-square-foot building on Lexington Road, but for the business, according to our partners at Louisville Business First. The building was listed for sale in 2020, and was sold in 2021 to North Carolina-based Grubb Fund Management LLC for $950,000.

"We, the operators and business owners of Headliners Music Hall, the iconic live music venue that has been home to countless national and local artists, are looking to sell," Hardison and Argabrite said in a statement to WDRB Tuesday evening. "After 15 years of operating the beloved and award-winning venue, we are both ready to move on to our next music industry chapter."

The co-owners are looking for someone who shares their "passion for music and community to become the next steward of this almost 30-year-old Louisville landmark," their statement continued. "In the meantime, until that special someone comes along, shows will continue as scheduled."

Hardison told Louisville Business First he and Argabrite do not have a set asking price for the business, but are taking offers.

"Basically, we're interested in selling the IP, contents and inventory," he said. "It's a turnkey room with a great staff and a full calendar, and somebody would need to assume the lease from the landlord."

Headliners, which opened in 1998, has about 30 employees, most of them part-time.

Hardison and Argabrite purchased the venue in October 2020 with then-partner John Grantz, who departed from the ownership group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they owned Production Simple LLC, a music promotion company that had been bringing acts to Headliners since 2005.

Hardison said while "it's been fun," he's ready to get back to his roots in concert promotion.

"I just want to book bands at the end of the day," he said.

Although Hardison and Argabrite no longer book under Production Simple and are looking to move on from Headliners, Hardison said they will still be active in the local music scene.

"We're booking shows through Jump In LLC, the operating unit that operates Headliners," he said.

Hardison added that he and Argabrite are involved with My Morning Jacket's upcoming hometown concert series in Louisville. They're also working with Old Forester's Paristown Hall, the Mammoth—a music venue in the Highlands—as well as Iroquois Amphitheater with Danny Wimmer Presents.

"We saved Headliners through COVID. That took a lot of work, working with NEVA (the National Independent Venue Association). I'm the vice president of the Kentucky chapter. I'm still doing advocacy work, very committed to that, but as far as being a club owner, after 15 years it just feels like it's time," he said.

Headliners was among several local venues facing uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, going months without music, performers or money.

Congress approved the $15 million "Save our Stages Act" in December 2020, preventing Headliners and other local venues from potentially closing their doors. In March 2021, the venue was the first in the country to be purchased under the Live Venue Recovery Fund, created by Charlotte-based Grubb Properties and Minneapolis promoter Dayna Frank in an effort to save independent live music venues by helping to keep them afloat.

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