Plans for transformed Rock’N Ranch music venue in Madera

Of the businesses Darren Schmall has cultivated over the years, it’s the concert venue he sort of fell into.

“I had no idea that I would be in the music business at 61 years old — it’s mindboggling,” says Schmall, standing mid-stage at ApCal Rock’N Ranch, the wine tasting room-turned music venue that celebrates its 15th anniversary with a concert party Saturday, July 18.

Schmall looks out over a three-acre field that was once a corn maze for the Raisin Hell Ranch. The haunted attraction (another of his business hustles) sits just off Highway 99 at Avenue and shares a parking lot with the outdoor concert space, so that “all the entertainment stuff is now working together,” Schmall says.

The field is now a stretch of planted grass and shade trees.

They’re a fast-growing proprietary variety called Megaflora, which Schmall helped propagate and grows on site. Within a few years, they will shade the entire yard.

Already, the space is naturally fenced in by almond orchards, which add shade in the early evening and help keep the venue degrees cooler during summer’s triple-digit heat.

In the middle, there’s a double-sided main bar, which offers a full complement of alcoholic beverages and “dirty” sodas (yes, ApCal is in on that craze, Schmall says). The VIP section up front has an additional private bar (and flushable bathrooms instead of porta-potties) and four smaller bars can be activated if needed.

Gone are the days of wine-and-beer sales. When ApCal relocated here during the pandemic, it updated to a Type 90 liquor license, which is specifically designed for performance venues like this and allows full alcohol sales (along with all-age performances).

The yard also has room for the extras: an inflatable ax throwing game and oversized beer pong set-up, food trucks (in partnership with Fresno Street Eats) and a pop-up cigar shop (smoking is allowed at the Rock’N Ranch).

“We’re just a different environment,” Schmall says.

“We’ve got this big, beautiful facility.”

Music, from the back porch to the main stage

Until this year, Schmall did all the bookings and promotions at ApCal.

In the early days, that was (mostly local) acoustic bands playing the back patio of the tasting room on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons (Saturdays were held for weddings). But “every wine tasting room in the world could do that,” Schmall says.

So, ApCal found a niche by expanding its entertainment offerings and by the late 2010s, it was known as the place for classic rock tribute shows. In the year before the pandemic, ApCal hosted nearly a dozen sold-out concerts, at a capacity of 1,000, Schmall says.

“The tribute bands were very popular. And we were really successful at it,” he says.

Of course, other venues decided they wanted in on the action, and “now, all the local venues are doing tribute bands,” Schmall says.

“We needed to separate ourselves, again.”

So, the Ranch has started working with outside promoters.

Last weekend, it hosted the Pistolanda Festival, a Mexican music showcase that brought in Grupo Vanguardia from Chicago along with Los Pilares De California, Los Cadetes de Linares and others.

In August, it hosts Sonic Summer, a day-long EDM festival with dozens of DJs.

Richter Entertainment at the Rock’N Ranch

In October, Foghat stops at the ranch with fellow classic rock band Molly Hatchet. Tickets went on sale last month, through Richter Entertainment.

The company has exclusive booking contracts at the FruitYard Amphitheater in Modesto and Ironstone Amphitheater in Murphys, but produces concerts across the state, including ZZ Top’s concert Aug. 7 at Saroyan Theatre in Fresno.

If things go well in October, the company could bring 10 to 15 shows to ApCal in 2027, Schmall says.

That would be in addition to 10 or more other events the venue hopes to get on the calendar every Saturday from April to September. That’s not only concerts, but also professional boxing, pro wrestling matches or any other event looking to draw 1,000 to 5,000 people.

Currently, there are few venues, especially outdoors, catering to that market in the central San Joaquin Valley. “We see a niche there for festival type events and outdoor concerts,” Schmall says.

Over the winter, the venue plans to install a new 65-foot stage with a permanent roof structure to better court more prominent touring acts, like ZZ Top. With better staging, the band might have booked ApCal instead of the Saroyan, Schmall says.

In the meantime, there are still a few months left on this season’s entertainment. That includes a couple of tributes bands (Journey and Morgan Wallace), a classic car show/movie night and performances from Tortilla Soup and Outlaw Mariachi.

And before all that, a celebration. This weekend, the ranch hosts a free show with Fresno rock band 51 Aces. The band has a long history playing at ApCal and is reuniting as a favor (and also by demand) to celebrate the venue’s anniversary, Schmall says.

“That’s our thank you to all of our customers from back in the day.”