A new music venue getting Johnny Cash as the first artist to play a concert there is beyond cool. That’s how the Von Braun Center arena’s concert history began, with a March 24, 1975 show by Cash, the country legend known for gravitas vocals on songs like “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”

The Von Braun Center was just getting started. Then called the Von Braun Civic Center, the Huntsville arena hosted an impressive array of artists in its first two years.

Many Huntsville residents know of rock and roll pioneer Elvis Presley’s sold-out multi-show VBC stands in ‘75 and ‘76. Lesser known, though — except for fans who were there — is how many great contemporary acts played the VBC arena during the venue’s first 24 months of concerts. Back when now-classic songs were new.

Today, Huntsville is rightly jazzed about and proud of the Orion Amphitheater. Since opening in spring 2022, Orion has brought stars like Lana Del Rey, Stevie Nicks, Phish, Robert Plant, Jack White, Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins to a Huntsville stage for the first time. Orion’s also featured big names like Snoop Dogg, Chris Stapleton, Black Crowes, Kenny Chesney, Jason Isbell, Black Keys, Billy Strings, Willie Nelson, Brandi Carlile and James Taylor.

As impressive as Orion’s opening two years have been, the Von Braun center’s first two years of concerts more than hold their own in comparison. Bottom line, Huntsville is lucky to now have both.

During VBC’s year one, R&B lords Earth, Wind & Fire played there, featuring then-current single “Shining Star.” Shock god Alice Cooper brought his groundbreaking “Welcome to My Nightmare” production to the VBC in ‘75. Country rock rainmakers the Eagles were touring their album “One of These Nights,” boasting hits like “Take It To the Limit” and “Lyin’ Eyes.”

In 1976, Aerosmith had just released the jean-jacket gem “Rocks,” an LP with rockers like “Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child,” when they played the Von Braun Center for the first time.

Kiss hit the VBC twice in ‘76. First in March and boomeranging back again in December. At the time, the makeup-slathered combo was the hottest band in rock, thanks to a string of rapid-fire releases like the 1975 concert album “Alive!” and ‘76 studio efforts “Destroyer” and “Rock and Roll Over.” Songs that became Kiss mainstays for decades, like “Shout It Out Loud,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Beth,” were just freshly minted.

Hot funk was well represented in VBC’s early days, thanks to Kool & The Gang (1975), Funkadelic (1976), Rufus (’76) Graham Central Station (’76) and Isley Brothers (’75 and ‘76). Contemporary country stars like Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, a pre-“Margaritaville” fame Jimmy Buffett and blues great B.B. King were in the mix, too.

Southern rock fans got Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie and Charlie Daniels Band. Future classic-rock radio mainstays like Yes, Foghat, Jethro Tull and ELO performed at the Von Braun Center within those first 24 months. A teenage Michael Jackson performed at the VBC, as part of the Jackson 5 in ‘75.

For context, the same year the Von Braun Center arena opened, “Jaws” was the biggest movie. “All in the Family” was TV’s biggest show. A Terry Bradshaw-led Pittsburg Steelers won the Super Bowl and Gerald Ford was president.

Mike Vojticek was a 15-year-old at Butler High School back then. “I remember just being so excited about that venue opening,” Vojticek tells AL.com, “because we would go see shows prior to that out at the old Madison County Coliseum.”

Vojticek went to a lot of those early Von Braun Center concerts. Elvis. Aerosmith. Funkadelic. Eagles. He saved his ticket stubs from those and many more VBC shows and still has them. In 1991, Vojticek joined the VBC as director of finance. He worked his way up to the venue’s assistant director.

In 2023, the VBC’s arena (6,500 to 8,500 concert capacity, depending on layout), concert hall (around 2,000 capacity) and Mars Music Hall (1,600-ish cap) hosted some 437 concerts. More than 20 of those were sold out, including shows by ZZ Top, Gladys Knight, The Judds, Shinedown and Dropkick Murphys. A sold-out star-studded tribute to late, great country crooner George Jones was filmed for a PBS special to air this year and already enjoyed a one-night only showing in movie theaters.

In addition to concerts, the VBC put on events last year as varied as stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, “RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq The World Tour,” Auburn University college basketball, “Disney On Ice,” Broadway tours and a pop culture convention featuring “Star Trek” icon William Shatner. Huntsville Havoc minor league hockey games draw an average attendance of around 5,000 per game, Vojticek says.

All told, more than 500,000 tickets were sold for VBC/Mars events.

For 2024 concerts, the Von Braun Center is bringing heavy-metal legends Judas Priest back to Huntsville for the first time in 40 years. Buzzed-about shows also include: a potent Mars Music Hall bill of ‘80s rock bands Extreme and Living Colour; a classic-rock arena show with Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top; and a concert hall acoustic performance by radio-rock kings Godsmack.

Arena-level comedian Kat Williams is coming, too. Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will return, as part of a three-year deal. A complete list can be found at vonbrauncenter.com. Yet-to-be-announced shows include a performance by “a pretty iconic female artist who’s never played Huntsville before,” Vojticek says.

The 2020 addition of Mars Music Hall has been a game changer for the VBC and for Huntsville.

“Bringing Mars online really got us a niche with a lot of a lot of bands that wouldn’t be playing Huntsville at all,” Vojticek says. “Think back to shows we’ve had in Mars, artists that started playing a club that are now doing arenas, amphitheaters, even stadiums. For example, we did Jason Isbell, and he was great. But also Billy Strings, Jelly Roll, Parker McCollum, Zach Bryan, Riley Green. Lainey Wilson, we’ve had her a couple times as an opening act for shows (at VBC venues), and now she’s announced her first headlining tour and she’s playing the Orion in August.”

Mars has also brought in veteran rock acts like Lindsey Buckingham, Skid Row, Queensryche and Tesla that local fans in recent years had to travel to other cities to see.

Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the Von Braun Center hosted a staggering array of bold-font names. Just a sample: AC/DC, Tom Petty, Dolly Parton, Metallica, Van Halen, Shania Twain, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, Prince, LL Cool J, Rod Stewart, Faith Hill, Duran Duran. The Von Braun Center maintains an online list of major acts that played there from 1975 to 1999.

“Back then there were many fewer cities that had arenas,” Vojticek says. “The size of the buildings was more comparable. Also, a lot of those shows were either no guarantees [money paid to the artist up front, no matter how many tickets are sold] or very low guarantee shows, just percentages, and so you could get those. Now, the guarantees are so high for a lot of these shows. We try to compete with a 7,000-seat arena for a concert with a 14,000-seat arena, and you know where they’re gonna go because they can make more money somewhere else. So that’s the kind of thing we’re competing with as well.”

That said, the VBC is making moves to keep them competitive. Mars Music Hall’s already nifty backstage areas and dressing rooms have been expanded. This year, they’re tricking out the concert hall’s back of house too. A $4 million makeover of the Von Braun Center’s arena backstage even impressed country icon Reba McEntire. “Reba, and I heard her say it,” Vojticek says, “she said, ‘I could live in this place.’ That was a compliment coming from a megastar like her.”

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