The Off Beat: Friends of Noise’s all-ages music venue nearing soft launch

Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, March 26, 2025

It’s been almost a year since folks heard about this new chance to jam out, welcoming anyone of any age a safe space to engage in the arts.

Formerly the Dancin’ Bare strip club, 8440 N. Interstate Ave., Friends of Noise is transforming this space into an all-ages music venue and teen workforce development center called The Off Beat.

Friends of Noise is aiming for a soft opening on June 14, and a grand opening on July 5. It will serve as a hub for creativity and community in North Portland.

The project is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise $1.5 million for creating this safe space for music fans of all ages. Combined with existing reserves of $220,000, they have raised a little under $600,000 as of March 26.

“I’ve seen so much joy in kids at our shows for the last three years,” André Middleton, executive director of Friends of Noise, said in a previous interview. “My goal is to create a safer space and for kids to get a glimpse of joy.”

Participants can expect evening concerts, hands-on workshops and workforce training, but a day-in-the-life at this venue will shifts as the seasons change.

“Our aspiration is that once the young people in the community start to occupy the building, that they will adopt it as their own, and we’re going to ask them, ‘What do you want to see in here?’” Middleton said in a prior interview.

Remodeling plans include new features, such as:

• Office space
• Stage with a ramp
• Sprinkler system
• Audio-visual system
• Recording booth and green room
• Screen printing and merchandise area
• Increased legal capacity
• Raised ADA viewing platform with a ramp
• Additional exit door
• Storage space
• Upgraded bathrooms

They still await building permits from the Bureau of Development Services, according to a press release, but its partners have already been hard at work. TVA Architects donated 202 hours — worth more than $35,000 — in design and application preparation, and Liminal Shift, the general contractor, began light demolition in preparation for the full remodel.

A public phase for the capital campaign will be launched in April.

Friends of Noise has supported youth in Portland since 2016, by equipping them with technical skills, financial literacy and more. The team has helped children work at local recording studios, join the stagehand union and pursue sound engineering and arts degrees in college.

For more about Friends of Noise, visit friendsofnoise.org.

“I’ve seen so much joy in kids at our shows for the last three years…. My goal is to create a safer space and for kids to get a glimpse of joy.”

André Middleton, executive director, Friends of Noise