It wasn’t long ago a rowdy crowd of punk, surf rock & reggae lovers would file into the black-walled room, 300 people deep, to rage at the legendary Pit. The oft-told stories of The Pit Days are part of old Outer Banks lore. After the lights went down & the music stopped almost a decade ago, the room fell silent and served ice cream instead of beer…that is until 2020.

After a brief stint as a community co-op, The Howell Family took over at the helm. It was on a windy day in March of 2021 as work was being done to transfer the space into a Full-Service Apothecary, that Greg pulled out his old Martin D-18 to play a little tune before getting to work. That tune turned into a phone call stating, “These walls need to have music in them…this place is simply meant for music.”

From there, we went to work. We knew the history of the room, and wanted to honor but in a very different way. We wanted to highlight the sound of the wood-walled room, to create a space where musical talent could be highlighted. With the help of local craftsman, Garrett White, sound diffusers, sound absorbers & bass traps were created and placed in various parts of the room. These took the already outstanding sound to a new level.

It wasn’t just the sound that changed from The Pit days, it is the whole vibe. We wanted to create a sanctuary for the true music lover, for the listener, for those who want to experience the music in their soul. We wanted to provide a space for artists to showcase their talents in front of an attentive audience, not just as background music to the nights event. We wanted to be that room where connection & appreciation between artist & audience can be felt with your whole essence. We wanted to create a true listening room…and we have, welcome to the Hi-Vibe Holistics Apothecary & Listening Room.

While still in the infancy of the Listening Room project, we have already hosted sold-out performances by Peter Rowan, The Larry Keel Experience, The Jon Stickley Trio, The Grass Is Dead, Lipbone & Into the Fog, a special performance by Mason Via, A Songwriters In the Round Event, and more amazing artists coming. The biggest compliment to our room has been every musician loving the space & wanting to come back. They have appreciated the small, attentive crowd and the outstanding sounding room. As Peter Rowan states, “I love to play on that little state. It’s a great vibe, run by wonderful people. Hard to find a more intimate showcase for songs and fine picking’! I love the Listening Room!”