The experience of going out with friends for live tunes could soon have a new look and feel to it, at least if you’re a regular at Mohawk. Thanks to a brand-new smartphone app, faithful patrons will have an updated way to see their favorite bands and musicians perform at the popular Red River venue.
Currently available on the iTunes App Store, the Mohawk app is in its first phase of features, and it might serve as an interesting experiment in what apps for specific music venues can offer customers.
The app focuses on schedules of upcoming performers and a ticketing service, but it also boasts other unique features, including giving users the ability to buy drinks for friends remotely and a photo feed where your own Instagram photos can show up.
"We’ve always known that being progressive digitally, just like we were with music bookings, helps us stay different.” — Mohawk's James Moody
As one of Austin’s most popular music venues, Mohawk has a devoted fan base comparable to that of many indie bands, and now they'll have a new, tech-driven way to connect with the club.
James Moody, the man who bought and built up Mohawk to the music destination it is today, says that the new app is an appropriate tool for music fans actively engaged with the club.
“The idea is … to give you a tool that you’ll use and need every day,” says Moody, “and then add on commerce levels, if you want to buy drinks or buy merch or things like that. This helps you do that, like every other digital commerce tool out there.”
“Our audience is pretty savvy," he says. "We have a heavy mobile audience, and we can tell that from our social media interaction over the years, so we know that they prefer mobile tools.”
This summer, Moody and others also launched a digital, mobile ticketing tool called Queue, which is integrated with the Mohawk app. Using mobile tools, Moody says, “is the way our customers live, and we’re trying to make tools that are conducive to that.”
Ever since Moody bought Mohawk, creating a better digital experience for customers has been one of his priorities. “It’s interesting, because when we moved in back in 2006, venues had websites, but the websites weren’t very good," he said. "One of the ways that we broke into the market actually was by building a better website. We’ve always known that being progressive digitally, just like we were with music bookings, helps us stay different.”
“I imagine that after we do this, that other venues will come out with apps.” — James Moody
The Mohawk app could also convince other venues to explore expanding into the realm of mobile tools. “I imagine that after we do this, that other venues will come out with apps,” said Moody.
With the first phase available, the Mohawk will gauge exactly how much users engage with the new app, and from there they will look to continue adding some new features, such as options for buying drinks for friends other than just during happy hours. To tie into the official launch of the app at Mohawk’s Appy Hour event on October 29, the website will also begin to enter a redesign to further connect with the mobile app in a more seamless fashion.
“The app can’t operate as an island,” says Moody, “The website has to work, and so does the ticketing. They all have to work digitally, so you’ll see in the next week that it will all come together.”
The first phase of the Mohawk app is now available for download on the iTunes App Store.
