What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Music Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.
On a recent weekend, the small music venue at the corner of North Williams and Northeast Killingsworth felt like a celebration. The new owners of Turn! Turn! Turn! (TTT) had just taken over, and their first weekend featured four sold out shows in three days. The unofficial opening weekend wasn’t contrived, or even advertised as such; it happened for the same reasons that have made TTT a mainstay in the Portland music scene. It was an organic community effort.
“It kind of feels like we’re continuing on something that’s already been built up,” Annie Ostrowski, one of the venue’s two new owners, told the Mercury.
Ostrowski and Joel Christerson bought the venue after its previous owners announced last year that they would no longer continue. It was the third threat of TTT closing in recent years, after Scott Derr—who opened the venue in 2014—moved on in 2020. COVID-19 did a number on music venues, including TTT. Ownership changed hands twice more since then, as the building’s short leases left it in limbo year after year. Now, the lease provides for another two years, and the place appears on the up and up.
Their first weekend kicked off with three shows by legendary local duo Quasi, including an all-ages matinee that Saturday, and a record release by the experimental songwriter Dragging an Ox Through Water. The sound was more dialed compared with prior TTT years, with a host of equipment upgrades by local engineer Thomas Hoganson. Beyond a slightly expanded bar program and some new tables, they won’t be making many changes to the space just yet.
“The expectations are realistic,” Ostrowski said. “People know the space and know what to expect. Any improvement we do is just an added bonus—not really a reworking of the whole framing of the space.”
TTT’s neighborhood has seen a lot of change over the years. Over the past decades, the North Portland area repeatedly experienced rapid real estate development and gentrification, leading to displacement and dispossession of Black-owned land and homes. TTT occupies one corner of the Albina Arts Center building, which has been a hub for arts, community events, and gatherings for Portland’s Black community for more than 60 years. But activity waned a handful of times over the years. The center faced economic uncertainty in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Oregon Department of Justice took over the building in 2015.
In the early 2020s, the Albina Arts Center building went through a grant process managed by the Oregon Community Foundation to select a new, nonprofit owner and activate the space. A committee of more than two-dozen members helped inform the vision, and another committee—including members of the 1803 Fund and Albina Vision Trust—sifted through proposals for a nonprofit owner that fit the vision. The local arts and education social justice organization Don’t Shoot Portland launched a campaign to reclaim the building in 2022, but in 2023, the local education and job placement nonprofit Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center was awarded ownership.
Ostrowski said they are conscious that long term plans for the building may not include their venue. But for now, TTT is happy to fill the space with people and take care of the building and the area.
“It is very temporary, but it’s for a good cause and a good reason,” Ostrowski said.
Christerson said all of the previous TTT owners were a part of the changeover when they bought the venue, highlighting the ongoing space TTT holds in the music community. In fact, Sad Horse—a local band made up of TTT’s most recent previous owners Elizabeth Venable and Geoff Soule—played one of the opening weekend shows. Mark Davies and Kate Horn—another set of previous owners who will continue hosting monthly karaoke nights—have helped with the transition, offering ongoing care for the space, even if unofficial.
“None of them have really stopped,” Christerson said. “They technically don’t own this space, but they’re all still very, very involved.”
Both Ostrowski and Christerson have long been active in the local music scene. Ostrowski worked at the indie publicity firm Riot Act Media, the radio station X-Ray, Doug Fir Lounge, and helped book the all-ages music non-profit festival PDX Pop Now! Christerson got his start booking shows and tending bar at the now-defunct, matchbox-sized bar Valentine’s. He also produced shows at East End, Church, Fixin’ To, and Swan Dive, where he still presents shows under the name Lonely God.
Under the new ownership, the bar will offer expanded cocktail options, including negronis and old fashioneds on tap, creative amaro cocktails, and a beer-and-scoot deal. TTT now sells advance tickets through the site as well, a welcome change for those who like to plan ahead.
Christerson said he expects to branch out genre-wise to include heavier music, noise music, and experimental hip-hop. But TTT will also expand the types of events it offers to include broader swaths of the local arts scene. If the curation seems all over the place, that’s intentional.
“We can do whatever we want here,” Christerson said. “Let’s do some fun, weird stuff.”
That might be a DJ night, karaoke, comedy shows, book and poetry readings, and certainly more matinees where people of all ages can play and attend, since the venue is ages 21 and over after 8 pm. In the coming weeks, TTT will host a celebration of Enya’s birthday (May 17) and an all-ages afternoon Cheerleader Roadkill show (May 24).
“We want to grow with the space,” Ostrowski said. “We want to have younger bands come in and different genres come in. So, it’s both honoring the community that’s already been built here, [while also] hoping to reach out and extend it more to other groups in Portland.”
Asked if it’s a place for weirdos, Christerson didn’t hesitate.
“I hope so,” he said. “Whatever that means.”
“Nice weirdos,” Osterowski added.