Like nearly all Portland musicians, “musician” isn’t Ronnie Carrier’s only job title. The indiefolk artist splits her time with live-music production, and since moving here 10 years ago, she’s worked nearly every role from runner to stage manager. At the Alberta Abbey — a small, vibrant community arts center in Northeast — she’s helped book nationally touring acts like North Mississippi Allstars, Pokey LaFarge and Nik West. “The nice thing about music venues is they understand my schedule; everybody’s a musician,” she said on a recent tour of the Abbey. With several world-class large music venues and dozens of small independent stages spread around the city, Carrier understands there’s a “missing middle” in the local music scene. For lack of venues in the 2,000- to 4,000-capacity range, major acts already skip Portland in favor of venues in Bend, Ridgefield and Seattle. But local leaders have chosen to address this need in part by selling public land to developers partnered with Live Nation, a global entertainment company accused by the federal government of predatory and unfair business practices. It’s a “worst-case scenario” for Carrier, and she and many in the city’s storied music scene are girding for a lengthy battle with the behemoth. “We know that we’re past the point of stopping them from coming,” she says. “They’re here, so we need to think about how we’re going to hold them accountable.” A Venue by Any Other Name Future Portlanders will likely know the project at Southeast Water Avenue near the Hawthorne Bridge by some other name. It could be the name of a wealthy donor or a corporate sponsor. The name could change over time, à la Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Stadium, formerly PGE Park and several others). For now, the planned $47 million concert BY GARRETT ANDREWS | PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN As a proposed Live Nation venue clears final hurdles, Portland’s noteworthy music scene mourns and readies for a fight. Live Nation's Portland venue is currently planned for the middle of the three vacant lots shown here. 27
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