Is the Tri-City Hoedown Center coming back? About the Richland venue

Update: After this article was first published, the Wonderbad show at the Hoedown Center was canceled. The band announced July 9 that the city of Richland updated the building’s maximum capacity to 40. Since they expect a higher attendance, tickets have been refunded and a neighborhood backup show with Wonderbad and Flightless is planned at 1503 Sunset St., Richland. The $10 backyard show will open at 6:30 with pay at the door only.

If you were part of the music scene in Tri-Cities back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you most likely visited the Tri-City Hoedown Center on Columbia Park Trail. The white building with its iconic black lettering was a beacon for music lovers, outcasts, punks and anyone looking for a space to enjoy a live show.

Able to fit a couple hundred people inside, the venue hosted now well-known names like Modest Mouse and Loudermilk.

But the space hasn’t been a full-time venue in decades.

However, a series of recent announcements about the location (including an upcoming show) has left the music scene wondering: Is the Hoedown Center back? Here’s what we know.

Tri-City Hoedown Center

In its prime, the former venue situated across from the Ben Franklin Transit Center was the spot for live rock music in the region. Just ask any musician who was in the area in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

It’s also included in the documentary by Tony Moser about that era of Tri-Cities music, “All Ages Show.” Numerous locals discussed the memories they have of the many shows within the Hoedown Center walls, doing interviews for the documentary in the empty building.

The venue was even mentioned by Nate Mendel, the Richland-born bassist for the Foo Fighters, when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among the Class of 2021. That clip is shown in the beginning of a teaser video, also created by Moser, which hinted at upcoming announcements for the Hoedown Center.

Over time, the building emptied out, the shows stopped and the scene changed. In the past 20-plus years, there have only been a handful of smaller shows in the Columbia Park Trail building.

The Hoedown Center lettering along the building’s exterior wall was painted over by an MMA company that leased the space. They also took down the recognizable lighted sign with square dancers outside.

That company has since left the building, owned by Greg and Carla Markel, leaving an empty location behind.

The Markel’s son Chad, who is also a Realtor in the family company, told the Herald the Markel family has been inspired by Moser’s documentary. After allowing for some onsite interviews, a doc release celebration with live music by Old Friendly was held at the Hoedown Center.

Chad Markel said in an email to the Herald that “All Ages Show” started the “forward momentum” for current activity. With the MMA company being moved out, the space now has potential for other opportunities.

So when Wonderbad, a Nashville-based band that originated in Tri-Cities, wanted to plan a show at the Hoedown Center, the circumstances seemed perfect.

Wonderbad at Tri-City Hoedown Center

Wonderbad was started by Milo Stanfield, whose father was an active participant in the scene during the Hoedown’s heyday. He started off releasing a few songs on his own, inspired by Nirvana and Weezer, then grew the band over the years.

Stanfield is a lead songwriter and front man for the band, and said he often draws inspiration from Elliott Smith and Built to Spill.

They last played in the Tri-Cities around three years ago at the now-closed venue in the Uptown Shopping Center, The Space. Since then, the band has relocated to Nashville. They started throwing around the idea of performing in Tri-Cities again, but weren’t sure how to go about it at first.

They wanted something DIY, where they could have control, something akin to the way the scene used to be. Stanfield told the Herald at first they were just joking around about playing at the Hoedown, “like the old days.” But before long, they started to wonder if they could really pull it off.

Wonderbad got in contact with the Markel family, who signed off on the idea, so long as the city approved. With all the necessary approvals in place, the band could start planning a show at the Tri-City Hoedown Center.

This serves as a full circle moment, not just for the band, returning to where Wonderbad was formed for the first time in several years, but also for the Hoedown Center.

“It’s always kind of been a Richland, Washington thing,” Stanfield said. “We wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for the people that were really passionate about music in the Hoedown days as well. Whether it was inspiring us musically or helping us out on another level, we definitely wouldn’t be here without the Hoedown culture.”

Tickets to Wonderbad in Richland

The Wonderbad concert at the Tri-City Hoedown Center is scheduled for August 22, with local support from EVA and Flightless. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 the day of the show.

You can buy tickets in advance by sending a Venmo to @Wonderbad, with a note for how many tickets you’re purchasing. Stanfield runs a business account on Venmo for the band, which allows for easy refunds if necessary. After receiving a Venmo, he’ll respond with the ticket number you’ll use to get in.

Stanfield said the show will have a mix of Wonderbad eras, with four members onstage. The band is set to release two new songs before the show, and they’ll be recording a live set while at the Hoedown Center.

He encourages attendees to look out for these upcoming releases, and to learn the words to Wonderbad songs for a more fun experience.

Restoring the Tri-City Hoedown Center

During the planning process, Stanfield’s dad, Elijah, reached out to his friend, Chris Baugh, who runs the Tri-City Hoedown Center Facebook page and is helping organize next steps for the building. Elijah Stanfield asked Baugh about a potential paint job, but Baugh immediately saw it as more than that.

“It’s not just a paint job,’” Baugh told the Herald in an interview. “There’s an opportunity here to tell the story again, and to open that door.”

This led to the recently-announced repainting project. Baugh is organizing two volunteer groups to prepare the wall to once again don its iconic lettering. The volunteer groups will help cover the current decal job, and a solo painter will return later to trace the original Tri-City Hoedown Center lettering back onto the wall.

“The first step is to paint it, get it back to its sort of historic appearance,” Baugh said.

The volunteer groups are both scheduled for Saturday, May 31. Some slots are still open, with signups online through Doodle.

Tri-City Hoedown Center’s future

So, is the Hoedown Center coming back?

Not in any official capacity. The building is not currently equipped for consistent events. Baugh, who is now an architect, guesses the codes for the location make a true return pretty unlikely.

But a one-off event and a paint job are still something. He’s hopeful more opportunities will arise.

More importantly, Baugh hopes this inspires the current Tri-Cities music scene. While he’s glad we have local venues like Ray’s Golden Lion and The Emerald of Siam, he also wants more of the grassroots events the scene used to have.

Back then, even if it was just a group of teenagers, people came together to create the events they wanted to have here.

“I wouldn’t say it was anarchy, but it was probably the closest thing to peaceful anarchy that we had,” Baugh said. “We were just making decisions, and we were thinking about ‘What can we do so that other people in the community that are like us can benefit from?’ And it was a good time.”

While younger than Baugh, Stanfield knows how the scene once operated here through his dad. Years later, he’d have his own moment of realization while at a Tri-Cities show, inspiring him to start his own band.

For him, the ideal show in August would inspire current Tri-Citians to make music, the same way he was inspired here.

“Music should definitely keep going there [in Tri-Cities], and so if I can be a part — all these bands, actually, are going to be a great part of inspiring, hopefully, some new people to pick up a guitar or something,” Stanfield said.

That’s always been at the core of shows at the Hoedown Center, keeping the lifestyle going.

“It was a place that provided and made a lot of meaning,” Baugh said. “To try and do something to kind of keep that alive, whether that’s repainting a facade, or somehow encouraging youth to do more and explore their musical talents, then I think that’s worthy of the time.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 12:05 PM.