Tidball’s, Bowling Green’s renowned live music venue which served as a home stage for countless local bands that Rolling Stone once described as the “CBGB of the South,” has seemingly closed after a nearly 25 year run.

The venue was created in 2001, after a group of friends banded together to create a live music venue in Bowling Green. Since then, it has been owned by John Tidball and Brian Jarvis.

Over the years it operated as a launch pad for local bands such as Sleeper Agent, Moon Taxi and the two-time Grammy Award winning rock group Cage The Elephant.

Tidball’s was listed for sale in 2023. At the time, Jarvis and Tidball stated the decision was a difficult one, but had been coming for some time.

“It’s something that we’ve been kicking around for a while,” Jarvis told the Daily News then. “The bar and music, it’s definitely a young man’s game and it’ll beat you down. I’m 48 and John is 50, so it was time.”

On April 9 of this year, Tidball’s shared an event calendar for the month of May on Facebook. The event listed on April 30 was called “Last Call.”

As the end of April neared, tributes began pouring in online from bands and local music fans alike. The final show at the venue was performed on April 26 by the local rock group The Josephines.

Matt Pfefferkorn, owner of Mellow Matt’s Music and More in Bowling Green, described Tidball’s as the “heart and soul” of the local music scene.

“It has been the spot to play,” Pfefferkorn said. “When anybody comes in the store and they’re like, ‘hey, we’re looking for a palce to play, who should we call,’ Tidball’s is the obvious.

He said Tidball’s is “the Cheers of Bowling Green,” and believes a void will be left behind in the community.

As for what comes next for live music in town, Pfefferkorn has “no idea.”

“We have a lot of great places to play in the area, but as far as Bowling Green goes, there will be a big void,” he said.

Tidball’s owners declined to comment to the Daily News on the closure. A Facebook post made April 25 spoke on its more than two-decade story and expressed gratitude to those who had an impact on the journey.

“ … The laughs, the friendships, the blood, the sweat, the beers, the tears, you just can’t put a price on it,” the post said. “We will miss this greatly.

“Still, we’ve left our mark. There’s no doubt about it.”