Silverados announces closure of concert venue
Black Mountain business cancels future shows
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 18, 2025
Silverados announced the closure of its outdoor music park, March 17., after the venue served as a Helene relief center for six months. The Black Mountain bar will continue operate. Photo by Fred McCormick
A local concert venue known for hosting a range of headlining artists before serving as large-scale relief and distribution center in response to Tropical Storm Helene is closing its doors, Silverados announced, March 17.
The Black Mountain business, which debuted in the summer of 2021, is cancelling its upcoming Soul of the South Fest and plans to refund ticket purchases within 10 business days.
The outdoor venue, with a capacity of approximately 2,500 concertgoers, has featured musical acts ranging from Jelly Roll to Oliver Anthony and Brian McKnight, but the venture has faced numerous challenges, according to a statement released by owners and founders Cory and Christen Short.
“In our five years in the concert business, we battled through losing our son in an automobile accident, a worldwide pandemic and a 1,000-year storm in Helene,” the statement read. “The blessing of our lives came in this venue temporarily becoming a supply center for our community with Valley Strong Disaster Relief. We got stronger with each life-changing hurdle.”
Silverados, which will continue to operate its indoor bar, endured COVID and thrived in the summer of 2022. The music park hosted concerts and festivals regularly before Helene, when the location shifted its focus to Swannanoa Valley relief efforts.
While the area was reeling from the impact of catastrophic flooding, a team of volunteers, including the Shorts, Jason and Amy Ward and Jenalee Tipton and Ian Monley organized a multi-faceted rescue and recovery operation. What later became a nonprofit organization known as Valley Strong Disaster Relief, began with search and rescue and medical assistance efforts immediately after Helene.
The site, which served thousands of area residents, attracted volunteers from around the country and eventually shifted its focus to supplying area residents with essential items, including food, water, heating fuel and pet food.
Valley Strong Disaster Relief will continue its work, according to a social media shared by Ward.
“In 2022, a slogan, ‘we come together here,’ was born, but little did I know those words would take on a whole new meaning,” he said. “After the storm, you came from all over the world to help with our efforts here, and there is no artist in the world that could compare to the volunteers that graced that stage for the final time. We came together here.”
Operating the venue was a source of pride, according to the owners.
“We are proud of what we accomplished in the Swannanoa Valley, and thankful for relationships made with the most incredible staff on earth,” they said. “You all are our family, forever.”
The couple is “proud to have earned every ticket sold and memory made,” they added.
“We poured our all into this dream,” the statement read. “These memories will last a lifetime.”