A new mid-sized music venue, Live at Madrid’s, is set to open on Friday in Portland, filling a gap left by the closure of Port City Music Hall. Owned by Josh Schlesinger, the spot on Fore Street will host local and regional bands with a capacity of about 800. The first performance will feature Gina and the Red Eye Flight Crew.
Live at Madrid’s, located at 144 Fore Street near Portland’s eastern waterfront, aims to bridge the divide between the city’s small clubs with capacities of 200 or fewer and larger halls like the State Theatre and Merrill Auditorium, each holding about 1,900 people, or the Cross Insurance Arena, which accommodates over 6,000 for concerts.
The venue includes a main hall for around 600 standing patrons and a 16-by-32-foot stage raised three feet off the floor. Entry leads to a 200-capacity lounge with a bar, ticketing, and coat check; views into the main hall are possible from certain lounge spots, with plans for video screens to broadcast performances. Previously, the building housed a marine supply business and a photographer’s space. Beyond music, it will host professional wrestling, weddings, and other events.
Opening on Friday with Gina and the Red Eye Flight Crew, a local band blending soul, R&B, and pop, the schedule includes about 20 shows through October, with more announcements pending. Upcoming performances feature Portland bands Gwynne and the Tonics, OystahGutt, and Rigometrics for album-release shows on April 3, 11, and 18, respectively. Other acts include Sparks the Rescue on May 8, Julia Haven—formerly Gagnon and an “American Idol” finalist—in a May 9 benefit, The Mallett Brothers Band on July 10-11, Spose on July 17, and a sold-out reunion by The Ghost of Paul Revere on September 4.
Schlesinger, with over 20 years in Portland hospitality and prior role as sales director for Bissell Brothers brewery, drew inspiration from past venues like The Big Easy, Asylum, and the now-closed Port City Music Hall, which shut in 2020 after operating as a 550-seat space. He once bid to rent that site but was unsuccessful. This marks his entry into the music industry.
Booking duties fall to Meg Shorette, who handled acts at Port City Music Hall and co-founded the All Roads Music Festival in Belfast and Portland. Cam Jones, a local musician, will manage marketing and social media. “Being new in this business, having this team, this support system, has been so important,” Schlesinger said.
The name originates from a brief reference in the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to Johnny Madrid, a character from a late-1960s western TV show. Schlesinger pronounces it like the Spanish city but acknowledges the Maine hamlet of Madrid, pronounced “mad-rid,” and drew logo inspiration from its Route 4 welcome sign. “It’s sort of like ‘potayto, potahto,’” he noted.
Meanwhile, Portland’s music scene has resisted larger developments, including a 2024 Live Nation proposal for a 3,300-seat venue near Merrill Auditorium, prompting an August city council moratorium on new spots over 2,000 seats, extended unanimously in February for six more months after public input.
