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It’s no secret that Portland’s music scene barely accommodates fans and artists under 21. The heyday of the city’s all-ages venues was in the ’90s and aughts, before today’s young audiences were even born. But a long-awaited new venue for underage audiences is nearly ready to open.
Friends of Noise’s new nonprofit, alcohol-free club The Off Beat, will host its first show in mid-November. FON is currently wrapping up a remodel of Kenton’s iconic Dancin’ Bare strip club, turning it into a visionary 400-capacity, MAX-accessible venue that promises to level up performers’ and audiences’ show experience while creating an inclusive space welcoming to underrepresented communities. The Off Beat’s first bill—Rat Bath, New Here, Privateer and They Shoot Horses—is set for Nov. 14.
Since signing a lease at the end of 2024, executive director André Middleton says FON has been “fixing that, repairing that, tearing down that—a bit of demolition, a bit of repair.” There are nuts-and-bolts code requirements like installing a new fire sprinkler system, alongside transformative improvements like remodeled gender-neutral restrooms and accessibility-minded enhancements for artists and guests.
“The entire space [is] ADA and wheelchair friendly from the front to the back,” Middleton says. “The stage is ADA compliant. We have a specific ADA viewing platform so wheelchairs can get a little higher up to see over the crowd.”
FON is getting the most out of The Off Beat’s renovation, which cost over $850,000. The approximately 5,000-square-foot space will also feature, Middleton says, “a proper green room, a dedicated merch area, a box office, a production office,” a concessions area with a coffee cart and vending machine, and a recording studio where artists can record their sets direct from the stage. But that’s not the only thing DIY musicians can create on the premises. The Off Beat’s merch area will have a screen-printing press so artists can create posters, shirts and other merchandise to order at shows, hopefully allowing bands to save time and money.
“We’re going to encourage people to bring their own T-shirts so we’re not doing fast fashion,” Middleton says. “We can actually recycle people’s clothes. We’re really excited about the potential of teaching young people some economic development and economic literacy around making and designing their own T-shirts.”
Formed in 2016, FON has been serving the area’s youth music scene: future musicians, sound and lighting engineers, poster makers, videographers and photographers, bookers and other roles that keep the scene moving. The nonprofit helps young creatives with workplace development opportunities, by throwing all-ages shows and workshops that help kids learn and get connected to the broader music scene—and each other.
Up to now, FON has been scrappy, hosting concerts in underserved areas of the city from East Portland to NoPo and even suburbs like Beaverton, in any available storefront, art gallery or city park. Lugging around lighting and sound equipment (and even generators, in the case of some outdoor shows), the group’s mobility cast a wide net, making it dynamic and visible. Meanwhile, it was the youth—alongside FON’s professional mentors—who made the whole operation go and established street cred for the burgeoning organization. Middleton holds a “get out of their way” mentality when it comes to empowering youth, who he believes are already on the cutting edge of culture and technology.
“We hope that this is a space that ends up being for them and by them, and that means giving them the agency that they already have,” he says.
Middleton talks about creating a third space—outside of school and home—where young people can come and decide “what they want to do with their time.” FON is also rolling out a subscription-based ticketing model, offering three shows a month for $25. In five years, it’s his vision that “young adults are doing everything” to make The Off Beat function—booking bands, running sound, working as production managers, designers, photographers and more.
Clara Kornelis is a 17-year-old high school senior who plays in They Shoot Horses, books shows, and works as a sound engineer. She took FON’s Live Sound Engineering for Teens course last year and has since engineered more gigs than she can precisely recall. Every one of these shows grew her local music scene network. Kornelis is excited that They Shoot Horses is part of The Off Beat’s opening show, and that FON’s programs have a permanent space.
“There’s so many more opportunities of jobs you can do,” she says. “More structure, that’ll be cool. Having our own place to be rather than always relying on other places—just knowing there’s somewhere that’s our own.”
SEE IT: Rat Bath, New Here, Privateer and They Shoot Horses at The Off Beat, 8440 N Interstate Ave., 971-808-2342, friendsofnoise.org/theoffbeat. 6 pm Friday, Nov. 14. $10 in advance, $12 day of show.