When Motorco Music Hall opened its doors in 2010, the city of Durham gained more than just a beautiful music venue—it also saw an invaluable addition to its local music scene while retaining a piece of its 20th century history.
The Rigsbee Ave building that houses Motorco was built in 1938 as the production facility of a bread company. From the late 1950s, it functioned as a car dealership till it was taken over by a limo service company in the early 1990s. The building was eventually abandoned and left to overgrow. This was until the people behind Motorco renovated it in the summer of 2010, opening their venue in September of that same year—with a name that can only be said to honor the building’s history.
Today, Motorco is still going strong. The venue features a large patio, the eclectic GarageBar space, affordable food from its Parts & Labor kitchen, and a showroom that—with a 450-person capacit—effectively makes Motorco Durham’s largest music venue.
In just eight years, Motorco has grown to be a nationally respected venue that features both nationally touring artists and the local area’s finest headliners. Pay them a visit and witness the latter, when Motorco hosts North Carolina natives River Whyless as part of the American launch of Independent Venue Week on Sunday July 15. You can find your tickets here.
