Dallas: The Bomb Factory

The building that houses The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum started out making cars, not concerts. Ford Motor Company acquired the plant in 1914 for automobile assembly, and during World War II it was retooled as Mayhew Machine and Engineering Works, manufacturing jeeps, practice bombs, and ammunition — the origin of the name it carries today.

Ramones, Phish, and a Dormant Decade

The factory closed amid economic decline in the 1970s and sat quiet until it reopened as The Bomb Factory music venue in 1993. Over the next four years it hosted the Ramones, Sonic Youth, Megadeth, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, and Rage Against the Machine, and Phish’s 1994 stop there is still remembered by fans as “Tweezerfest.” The first Dallas date of the Vans Warped Tour played the Bomb Factory in August 1995. The venue closed again in 1997 and stayed dark for more than fifteen years.

A $7 Million Reopening

Westdale Asset Management announced a revival in November 2013, and after a $7 million renovation The Bomb Factory reopened on March 26, 2015, with Erykah Badu headlining the grand-opening show. The rebuilt room seats or stands anywhere from 200 to about 4,300 across more than 50,000 square feet, with five full-service bars and an industrial-chic finish that keeps the building’s factory bones visible. It briefly operated as “Factory in Deep Ellum” starting in mid-2021 before reverting to The Bomb Factory name in March 2025. Recent years have brought Robert Plant, Lauryn Hill, and The Lumineers through the same room that once hosted the Ramones.

The Bomb Factory sits two blocks from Trees, giving Deep Ellum one of its two anchor rooms within easy walking distance of the other. Check the venue’s own calendar and note that the smaller adjoining room, The Studio at The Bomb Factory, books its own separate shows.

I’ve been here ♪