The Bomb Factory Drops the 'Bomb' from Its Name

Two of the biggest and most iconic music venues in Deep Ellum will reopen under a new name. The Bomb Factory and its neighboring venue Canton Hall have been rebranded as The Factory in Deep Ellum and The Studio at the Factory, according to new websites and social media accounts for the new venue.

The phone number and email address for The Bomb Factory have also been delisted, indicating the change for the historic venue is already underway.

Attempts were made to reach The Bomb Factory's owner Clint Barlow and a representative of AEG Presents, which has an exclusive booking deal with the 50,000-square-foot venue. Neither could be reached for comment.

The new announcement says The Factory will open Oct. 8 with performances by Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush and Lake Street Dive. Other shows will follow from acts such as Leonid & Friends, Dance Gavin Dance and We Came As Romans, according to the new venue's schedule.

The Canton Street venue reopened in 2015 after Clint and Whitney Barlow, the owner of Trees on Elm Street, purchased the dormant space with a grand opening performance by Erykah Badu.

The historic Bomb Factory space was built in the 1900s as a Ford automobile factory and changed into a munitions factory during World War II giving The Bomb Factory its name when it changed into a music venue in 1993. The Bomb Factory cemented its place in the legend of Deep Ellum with live, raucous shows from groups such as The Ramones, Fugazi and Sonic Youth and as the first venue in Dallas to host the nationally touring Warped Tour. The Bomb Factory hosted a live show for the Chemical Brothers before closing for the first time in 1997.

The empty space was also used in 1987 for a scene in director Paul Verhoeven's action blockbuster RoboCop as a narcotics factory located in the seedier side of Old Detroit.

The Barlows purchased the space and reopened the Deep Ellum venue in 2013. They spent $7 million renovating the long-dormant space and reopened The Bomb Factory to the public two years later. The venue operated for six more years offering live performances by Kid Cudi, Tenacious D, Kraftwerk, Chance the Rapper, Jack White and many other nationally recognized musicians and groups.

The space has been closed since mid-2020 because of the pandemic.