Haw River Ballroom — Restaurant in Saxapahaw

The Haw River Ballroom is an adequate venue for music but has far to many negatives to make it a good venue, much less a great one. First , lets talk about the parking which is not really their fault but has to be mentioned. If the Farmers market and music festival is going on at the same time as the show you are going to see forget about parking close. expect to park in a field or on a street within several hundred yards from the facility. don't go during the summer. this area is hotter than Balls and with no air movement it can be unbearable at times. forget about getting something to eat or drink as the crowds make wait times hard to deal with so eat before you get out to this middle of nowhere slice of a small town. everything is over priced so be prepared for that also. Sarah Jarosz was playing that night and i was very excited to see her and she clearly likes the venue but it is not optimal or even adequate for her fans. There was no seats for the show other than a handful of reserved seating on the terrace. you have to know your audiences so the festival style, standing room only type of set up no doubt maximized profits but set up a holy hell of an uncomfortable venue. standing nut to butt on a crowded floor to try to listen to an artist like Sarah Jarosz was difficult at best and ruined the whole event for me. constant Cocktail party noise through the whole thing. this type of venue would be great for louder type bands like Rock or alternative but just didn't enhance the experience with an Americana style artist. only one of the bars took credit cards and they had only one person working that bar setting up a long line just to get beer or a bottle of...

A great place "out in the country". Well worth the trip and adventure. Saxapahaw is a unique and cool little spot. A river mill village with a number of mill buildings converted into living space, as well as the ballroom itself. The farmer's market during the summer is a very nice family event, with music as well. One sits on the nice grassy hill that rises up from the parking lot which has the farm products and music. There is a real live, medium sized, outdoor amphitheater with large concrete "steps" to sit on, much like the NC Museum of Art.

The ballroom itself is real neat. Old industrial brick building. The main floor area is at least two stories high. Near the entrance is a second story with a bar/coffee bar and tables and chairs that look forward, over the crowd to the stage. Outdoor balcony adjacent to the bar.

Just saw Lake Street Dive there last night. Great show. Didn't take too long to get in, about 5 minutes. Parking is free, but is kind of a zoo there, because there is no large parking area dedicated to the ballroom. In fact, there is no large parking area anywhere in Saxapahaw, in part due to the close quarters of the buildings and the river. You can park on the street in front of the ballroom, by the General Store, in a nearby field, behind the living areas, etc. The village residents are generally tolerant of the situation.

The sound was quite good where we were near the stage. However, during the opening act, during quieter moments, the crowd noise of people talking was very apparent. I did not hear any crowd noise during...

My wife and I used the Haw River Ballroom for our wedding ceremony and reception and we could not have asked for a better experience. The venue is flat out AWESOME! Seriously, it has been a few months and we still have friends and family telling us how beautiful and cool they thought the venue was! The industrial style is so cool and the space gives great options for weddings of all sizes. We were able to have cocktail hour on the second floor café and balcony area, have the main reception and dancing on the first floor, and use the third floor balcony area for our wedding party table to have a quieter space to rest up between dancing. Also, the stage area is dope! We had karaoke and getting to see all our closest friends and family sing their hearts out on stage is a memory we’ll always cherish! And lastly but certainly not least, the staff are amazing! Everyone we worked with was so kind and supportive, but I have to give a shout out to Karina. Karina is the coordinator for the ballroom that we worked with and never in my life have I had a bigger hype person than her. She really made us feel like rock stars and was a pleasure...