On the heels of the grand opening of the largest investment in Natural Bridge Caverns history, the caverns announced the first ever live underground concert in the Ballroom, part of the recently expanded Hidden Cavern. The new concert series will begin with renowned guitarist and song writer, Monte Montgomery on August 18th. (photos here)

The Ballroom, the natural underground chamber in the second of the two caverns discovered at Natural Bridge Caverns, has incredible sound quality making it a perfect space for musical performances. It’s also 150 feet underground, making it the deepest concert venue in Texas. “From the day we first decided to open this area to the public, we imagined the possibilities for live music,” said Brad Wuest, president of Natural Bridge Caverns. “This is the first of many concerts we plan on having in this unique venue.”

Monte Montgomery, who has been named the best acoustic guitar player by the Austin Chronicle Austin Music Awards for seven straight years, will be performing a solo show. Doors open at 6.

Due to the size of the room, only 200 tickets will be sold, making it an intimate and unusual experience for both the artist and the audience. For more information visit NaturalBridgeCaverns.com

We have gotten some questions about doing concerts in the cavern and we want to respond to those thoughtful concerns.

First we deeply appreciate concerns about the cave. This area has been under careful development for more than six years and this particular area of the cave has little to no formations. It is specifically for this reason we selected this area of the cave for events because while sound can carry through large open spaces, the structure in this area dampens any impact of noise through the rest of the cave.

We think it’s important for everyone to understand that only 20% of our cave is actually open to the public at all. The rest of the cave is still wild, explored only by professionals and we take great care to keep it that way, above ground and below. Of the 20% that is open to the public we’ve spent more than 60 years leading the way to both preserve the cave formations and environment while sharing it with people. In this way, we hope to inspire ongoing support for cave environments.

One last bit of information: our concert series is geared to acoustic sessions, not huge concerts with giant speakers. We know at these sound levels we can ensure the experience is positive for our guests and artists and will allow the cave to continue to grow as it has for millions of years.