Sitting Down with 423 Productions

423 Productions has been making quite a name for themselves over the past several years producing a lot of big name acts throughout the south.  Chattahoochee Valley Living wanted to get a peak behind that concert curtain so I sat down with Chase Bass, owner of 423 Productions.  Here’s our conversation:

BE:  How did 423 Productions start?

Chase: My brother Thomas and I started it. He’s a retired LT. Colonel in the Air Force.  So, he leaves the headache and day to day to me. He’s had a rough stress serving in the military. I guess that’s fair. The name “423” comes from my son’s birthday on April 23rd. 

BE:  423 Productions has been doing a lot of top concerts in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and you seem to have a strong base in Dothan?  What’s the history and the plan? 

Chase: I live in Dothan and we do shows at 4 venues there. So, that’s our home base. We also work with venues in Lafayette, AL, Montgomery, Panama City Beach, FL, Macon, GA, Charlotte, NC, and Columbus, OH. We started in October 2019 and well…2020 wasn’t the best year with Covid. Basically, we took a huge loss for the year in every way possible financially. So, I chose to grow things I could control.,.relationships. Coming out of Covid we were ready to start the return back to live music. Sold out our first show in Dothan at The Plant. Since then, we’ve had a hand in over 220 concerts. One of our absolute favorite locations is The Oaks Farm in Lafayette, AL. It’s the prettiest piece of property I’ve ever seen to do concerts on. The owners, Jersey & Jeremy Weldon, have a passion and hunger to help this community have something no one ever thought it could. A lot of people don’t realize what all goes into shows like this. It’s a new venue to live music. It’s one of the smallest cities in Alabama. They knew up front we’d take some losses to get to where this area and ourselves could start winning. We’re getting there one show at the time. 

BE:  423 Productions is involved in the big bash at the beach in Florida, Gulf Coast Jam. What role do you play there? 

Chase:  If it wasn’t for the experience and mentorship I’ve gained through my time at Gulf Coast Jam, I wouldn’t be where I am today. That’s family to me. I work with them year-round overseeing certain aspects of marketing and with artists relations. During the actual festival I’m one of the assistant producers/festival directors and also oversee our . entire beverage program. Drinks are important and I make sure no one goes thirsty. Haha 423 productions is a marketing partner with GCJ as well. We scratch each other's backs sharing info about events with our customer bases. Dave, Mark, Rendy, and Joe if you’re reading this…thank you for all you’ve done to help me. 

 BE:  You’ve done 3 or 4 show out at The Oaks Farm. How did that come about? 

Chase:  Well, a mutual friend passed my name along to the Weldons. They called me and I came up for a site visit. I fell in love before I ever got out of my truck. Then, I got back in my truck really fast because they’ve got a dog the size of a small horse. His name is Tito and we’re really good friends now. I’m gonna keep it that way. They told me their dream, I gave them some truths about the growing pains, and they said they were committed to giving it their best. I can vouch for that 100%.  They put their whole heart and soul into every show. We’ve shared blood, sweat, and tears on the farm. We’re family now and care for each other dearly. There will be many more shows at The Oaks Farm, I promise you that. 

BE:  What’s the challenge producing shows at a venue like The Oaks Farm? 

Chase:  It’s brand new to the concert industry. So, it began as an uphill battle with agents, artists, and fans to earn their trust. We feel like we’re accomplishing that more and more each time. Justin Moore played for 2 hours and basically had to be pulled off the stage because he loved the venue and the crowd so much. Justin loves to perform and he changed everything with the way he captivated our crowd that night. 

BE:  What’s the key to drawing great crowds to events?  Is it all about the artist? 

Chase: Awareness! Getting the events in front of people. Making sure they know when and who. Also, getting people to realize where Lafayette, AL is. I’ve talked to people in Auburn, Columbus, and other nearby cities and they just don’t associate where the city is in relation to them. Multiple people told me they thought it was near Mobile. It’s 25 mins from their house. Y’all are gonna help me with that right? Get the word out? Haha Seriously, we appreciate all your team has done to help us so far. 

BE:  How big is your team when it comes to putting on a concert? 

Chase:   I typically bring about 5 people that are considered 423 staff for the events. Our production crews are the center of the machine and what makes the day of the show go so smoothly. PEG out of Dothan, AL handles the production for every event we do. Dave and Stephen run a top-notch production and are unmatched in professionalism in my eyes. Larry Ward and his crew out of Milton, FL handle our stages, fencing, etc. This may sound cliche but if Larry can’t do it…no one can. We had roughly 45-55 people over the 3 days of setup and tear down for Chris Young. Plus. the 15-20 staff from The Oaks Farm. 

 BE:  What’s next for 423 Productions?  What can we look forward to? 

Chase:  I’m trying to book shows daily. We’re working hard to put 3 more shows on this year at The Oaks Farm. We’ve got another one April 1st over in  Autaugaville, AL with Kameron Marlowe, Tyler Braden, Shackelford Lane, and Wyatt McCubbin. We give away a couple thousand pounds of crawfish at that one. It’s called the Shackelford Lane Crawfish Boil. Follow our pages and you’ll see the news for announcements popping up! Never know who you’ll see next.