Shreve Station: New owner, bigger vibes

Shreveport musician and concert organizer Jackie Brock wants to go back in time.

As a teenager, the Southwood High School student – and his musical-inspired friends – would go to places around town where they could listen to local bands, be around others their age who enjoyed music, and “be inspired by each other.”

“Back then, used to be, you were around different groups of musicians that were into different genres of music,” Brock said.

But this is 2023. “Nowadays, you’re lucky just to find a group of kids who like to play music at all.”

As proprietor of Shreve Station – an open-air venue at 400 Crockett St. in downtown Shreveport – Brock hopes to provide a place where young musicians – including Brock’s children – can thrive in that same environment.

“My son is an excellent drummer,” Brock said. “My daughter will be great at whatever she decides she wants to do. I want to use this as their playground – a place to cultivate their creative visions and try to be a positive influence on other kids and young adults, in the area.”

Brock, along with two others, manage what used to be The Lot and, before that, the SporTran bus terminal. Brock wasn’t involved in The Lot – except to bring a few concerts to the facility. But he knew it could be something special.

“I saw the potential in the venue,” Brock said. “By my calculations, Shreveport had 250,000 people not being entertained on any random Friday or Saturday. This is an opportunity for me to do what I love to do, which is build concerts and events around live music, and get to see the fans show up and have a really good time, see the smiles on everybody’s faces, and feel the energy of a great event.”

The way the Downtown Development Authority executive director sees it, Shreve Station is another reason for you to come to that part of the city.

“It just gives you multiple options on your entertainment dollar – on your food dollar,” Liz Swaine said. “It keeps people in downtown for a longer period of time, which is great. It encourages them to explore more and participate in more downtown events.”

Swaine said Shreve Station could be used for various events from concerts and boxing matches to Christmas Spectaculars – like last month’s “Miracle at the Station.”

Shreve Station has a bar and sells adult beverages. It also has a kitchen. But …

“We’re not here to sell as much beer or as much food as possible,” Brock said. “That’s not what our business model is centered around. I want to have multiple food trucks operating out of here, so my partners and I can focus on doing really cool visual experiences for Shreveport. I want this place to light up like the Texas Street Bridge (Bakowski Bridge of Light) does.”

Brock plans on doing that by using his years of experience in the music business. Brock is also responsible for bringing concerts to Silver Star’s The Stage and Hurricane Alley – both in Bossier City. But at Shreve Station, don’t expect the same kind of music.

“At Silver Star, where I might have Mark Chesnutt, Ronnie Milsap, Pat Green or somebody like that, I’m going to be doing more of an Americana thing in Shreveport,” Brock said. “Not as much country as I do in Bossier. It’s going to be a lot more broadspectrum, multi-genre types of music. It just opens the door to (musicians who are) routing this part of the country. They’re going to be very excited to have this place to stop between Little Rock and Dallas, or between Little Rock and New Orleans.”

Brock would like to bring one “national” act a month to Shreve Station – one that “will bring 1,500 people to downtown Shreveport. (People) who will be traveling from 75- 90 miles away and spending good money and staying in hotel rooms.”

But that’s not Brock’s primary goal. Remember how this story began.

“Developing high school kids playing music together is what my energy is going to be put behind.”

To learn more about Shreve Station, you may visit Facebook and search “Shreve Station.” As of this writing, the venue’s website, www.shrevestation.com, was under construction.