Skip to main content126 NE Alberta St., albertaabbey.org.
Best Way to Avoid Circling the Block: The parking lot across the street from the Abbey is underused and often has empty spaces for you to leave your vehicle. If not, head up Alberta to the Natural Grocers and use its parking lot—so long as it’s after 8 pm.
Best Place to Keep Your Social Distance: Slip up to the rarely used balcony at the Abbey for great sightlines and a way to stay a few feet away from the rest of the concertgoing rabble.
Best Way to Kill Time Between Sets, Part 1: Grab a book from the Abbey’s humble lending library to make your solo concert trips a little less lonesome. You might cultivate a nice air of mystery and attract a new partner with a similar literary bent. If you find a real page-turner, check the book out and take it with you. Just promise to return it, eh? Don’t want to add another title to your growing “to be read” stack.
Best Way to Kill Time Between Sets, Part 2: You can also use your downtime to explore the Abbey’s 100-year history at the small exhibit the venue has set up inside the lobby. There’s much to learn about how this space was once a hub for the historically Black neighborhood before falling into disrepair around the turn of the century. It now stands as one the city’s best places to see live music and, with the help of the Abbey’s foundation, a place to support the area’s underserved communities with social services.
Best Way to Record a Live Album on the Cheap: If you’re lucky enough to get booked at the Abbey, you can get a top-quality recording of your set with some help from the venue’s enormously talented team of sound engineers. With enough lead time, you’ll walk away with a crystal clear recording that you can sell to fans or turn into your next big release—all for the bargain basement price of $75 for a solo acoustic act or $100 for a full band. All you have to do from there is not suck.