Rockwood Music Hall

Sting, Lady Gaga, Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles all played Rockwood Music Hall, which Ken Rockwood, known as the Professor, opened on Allen Street in 2005 as a small bar and music venue¹. Its Stage 1 held 50 people². In 2010 it opened Stage 2, a room for 175, and in 2013 it started a record label, Rockwood Music Hall Recordings^{1, 2}.

Rockwood announced that live concerts would return on June 3, 2021, but the pandemic had left the club in financial difficulty^{2, 3}. In June 2023 it launched a GoFundMe, which raised $124,670, to help it stay open, and Sara Bareilles started a #PreserveRockwood benefit concert series². That year it also closed Stage 3 and its bar space, and in November it announced it was getting back to basics and closing Stage 2². The Lone Bellow, who got their start at Rockwood, sent Stage 2 off with three nights from November 29 to December 1².

In May 2024 its Boston outpost closed abruptly². On November 10, 2024, musicians booked for later shows got emails saying the club had closed, effective immediately, due to circumstances beyond its control^{2, 4}. That December 196 Allen Street, its home for 19 years, was up for lease².