ABOUT USTHE PRESS ROOM
For fifty years, The Press Room has been your spot for an afternoon pint and a bite to eat, a night out with friends, and your live music fix.
It’s the people that keep coming back, to share a drink or take the stage. It’s the community of musicians and artists, performers and listeners, who’ve made this the place we know and love.
THE SPACE
Join us downstairs for a pint at the bar, hang with friends at the high-top banquette for a round or three, or tuck into the corner booth under the staircase to share a meal or catch some live music. Our space is comfortable, casual—the perfect spot for a quick lunch or dinner, late night snack, or nightcap.
FIRST FLOOR BAR & RESTAURANT
Upstairs is the place for live entertainment. Catch a show over dinner or drinks, at the most intimate music venue in downtown Portsmouth, now outfitted with a brand new sound system and third-floor views of the stage. Grab a table, or hit the dance floor—we’ve got your favorite local and national touring acts taking the stage almost every night of the week.
SECOND FLOOR VENUE
THE HISTORY
The Press Room opened its doors at 77 Daniel Street on Election Day 1976, when journalist, musician, and folk devotee Jay Smith set out to create a traditional English-style pub where local musicians could play and the community could gather for what he called “nourishment of the body, mind, and spirit.” As its following grew, The Press Room expanded upstairs and, in 1983, legendary local DJ, music historian, and tireless champion of the arts Bruce Pingree took over booking and general management, helping turn the little room on Daniel Street into one of New England’s most enduring homes for live music.
In 1995, Smith sold The Press Room to Jay Gardner, owner of Boston’s famed Rattlesnake Bar & Grill, who carried its independent spirit forward for the next 21 years. When Gardner put the business up for sale in 2016, extensive code requirements forced The Press Room to close its doors the following June for the first time in 40 years. Josh Sheets then took the reins, overseeing a top-to-bottom renovation that preserved the character of the original while rebuilding it for a new generation, and The Press Room roared back to life on October 31, 2018.
Today, under the ownership of Portsmouth native and longtime local hospitality operator Kevin Dwyer, The Press Room carries that legacy into its next chapter. Through 50 years, multiple owners, and a changing city around it, the mission has remained remarkably intact: great food and drink downstairs, great music upstairs, and a room where Portsmouth comes together.
And what a room it has been. Across five decades, The Press Room has built a musical history wildly disproportionate to its intimate size, welcoming generations of Seacoast musicians alongside remarkable national and international artists—from Richie Havens, Jonathan Richman, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Luna, and Frank Turner to Nels Cline, Brazilian Tropicália legends Os Mutantes, and countless others. Just as important are the traditions that became institutions of their own: Hoot Night, Sunday jazz, Tuesday Jazz Jam, traditional music sessions, Beat Night and decades of local artists who found a stage, an audience, and a home here.
Fifty years later, The Press Room remains what Jay Smith hoped it would become in 1976: a place to eat, drink, listen, play, discover something new, and find yourself among good company.
