Keven Reed

My Brightest Diamond, an alternative folk, pop and rock ensemble, performed on opening night at The Square Room.

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Keven Reed

Kim Thompson, Dan Sproles and Brent Thompson, from left, enjoy opening night at The Square Room.

I was skeptical when I first heard about The Square Room, a new venue that opened this past weekend on Market Square.

With venues like World Grotto, Preservation Pub, Pilot Light, the Tennessee Theatre and the Bijou Theatre, I wondered what else The Square Room would have to offer downtown Knoxville's thriving music scene?

As it turns out, it has quite a bit to offer. The Square Room and its restaurant counterpart, Cafe 4, look set to provide some interesting entertainment for the downtown cafe crowd.

Although technically two separate entities, The Square Room and the adjacent Cafe 4 take the "dinner and a show" idea and combine the two into an evening that can't be matched anywhere else in Knoxville.

If entering through Cafe 4, you are greeted with one of the classier places on Market Square to sit down and grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee. While we were able to pass through the cafe to come and go from the concert, we didn't get a chance to try any of the food because the kitchen didn't officially open until the following Monday.

You can also enter directly into the venue from the sidewalk between The Square Room and Tomato Head. There isn't much to the venue space, which actually plays well to the whole atmosphere that it seems to be trying to create. The room is literally square, with two sides covered with concert posters done by local graphic artists, while one side is home to the stage.

Keven Reed

Cafe 4 and The Square Room make a for a good gathering spot for, from left, Rachel Downing, Grant Geren and the blue-haired Curtis Geren.

One of the more subtle and neat aspects of the venue is that the back wall of the room is a large glass window separating the venue from the cafe, allowing those still eating to catch the action on the other side.

There didn't seem to be much seating available in The Square Room itself, with the back corner taken up by the sound booth and a merchandise table/bar in the center. This seemed to be mostly due to the large crowd that turned out for an amazing opening show by the experimental folk-pop group My Brightest Diamond.

We found a spot to stand in the back. Luckily, there isn't a bad view in the house, unless you manage to get stuck standing behind the bar. Speaking of which, The Square Room has quite a few alcohol options, offering a few top-quality draft selections and a wide range of bottles. I had a Rogue Dead Guy Ale for $5 and a Miller High Life for $2.50. Other beers, including all your favorite domestics and plenty of unique imports, ranged in price from $3 to $5. The Square Room does offer a fairly large wine selection but does not serve liquor.

The service at The Square Room was great. You have the option of either running to the bar or waiting for one of the many servers to take your order. It was nice to have the option of not running back and forth to the bar and being able to pay full attention to the show.

Keven Reed

Ashley Wells, Lisa Speck and Cassie Lundquist, from left, get into the sounds of My Brightest Diamond at a recent show at The Square Room.

Upcoming shows include performances by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and Ben Sollee. A local songwriters concert will feature R.B. Morris, Todd Steed and Scott Miller. Check out www.thesquareroom.com.

I had a great time and was absolutely blown away by how well The Square Room handled their opening evening and will definitely be back for Ben Sollee on Saturday. If The Square Room keeps up this type of quality, it should have a long life.