Ken Bell, Owner,Operator of the House of Music This Afternoon.

“We felt obligated to keep the club alive for musicians,” said Ken Bell, Owner/Operator of the highly popular House of Music, 25 Temple Street, this afternoon, as he described his decision to reopen the House of Music, most likely next spring or summer.  “They have been good to me for fifteen (15) years.  I felt I should do my best to keep the place open for them.”

Earlier this year Bell announced that he and his business partner, Jamie Isaacson of Munjoy Hill, had decided to sell the popular venue – a decision they had been considering for some time.  Current state guidelines require that not more than 50 people can gather inside a venue.  “We can’t pay our bills with that,” Bell said.

The House of Music, one of the major music venues in Portland,  closed down on March 12th because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  “We expected to be closed a month at the most. But that quickly changed as soon as we realized the reality of the situation,” Bell said.

The House of Music has been a major showcase for local musicians including Gina & The Red Eye Flight Crew and the Maine Dead Project.  Musicians with a national reputation performing at the House of Music have included Sub Dudes, singer Marcus King and Eric Krasno.

“The reopening date is tied to when a vaccine for COVID-19 will be available to everyone,” said Bell.  That is expected to be in the spring or summer of 2021.  In the meantime, a GoFundMe account was established three weeks ago and already $55,000. has been raised.

Please go to www.gofundme.com and search for Portland House of Music.

“It’s been devastating and the lack of federal support has been saddening,” Bell said.